at home to Hooper’s Colts

By KEVIN PEARCEY

Sports Writer

Down 7-6 in the seventh inning, Hooper Academy scored three runs and held Pike Liberal Arts to just one, their turn at bat, to take a 9-8 decision yesterday at Patriot Field.

PLAS Tate Flowers went to the plate in the seventh, with two outs and two runners on base, but grounded out to second to end the game. Brad Egerton scored the only PLAS run in the inning.

Relief pitching was the order of the day as each team sought to find a player that would be able to finish the game without giving up runs.

Will Hudson got the starting nod for the Patriots and played a solid game, striking out six Hooper batters. With PLA up 5-3 in the sixth inning, he was relieved by Layton Sanders. A couple of hits later, now with the Colts up 6-5 on the Patriots, Sanders was relieved by Egerton, who was able to close out the inning without giving up anymore runs.

In the bottom of the sixth, it was Hooper’s turn to play "Name that Pitcher." Chad Anderson opened on the mound in relief of Dean O’Farrell, who had relieved the Colts starter Hunter Harrison in the bottom of the fifth. After walking four straight PLA batters, including the tying run, Anderson was yanked in favor of Justin McBee, who promptly kept the streak going by walking the first Patriot batter he saw, Chris Campbell. Now Pike Liberal Arts was up 7-6.

Egerton was back on the mound for PLA in the seventh, but two runs later he was pulled for Matt Floyd, who finished for Pike Lib.

The Patriots led throughout most of the game, before giving up four runs to the Colts in the sixth inning. Their largest lead was 3-0 in the bottom of the second. A Flowers double brought in the Patriots first run of the game, with Campbell and Floyd also sending runners home during the inning.

PLAS had ten hits, including four by Bill Hughes. Hooper Academy had eleven hits.