Sports Writer

Just three days following the funeral of former assistant coach Terry Sikes, the Charles Henderson High School Trojans played its first home games since his tragic death Saturday afternoon against the Geneva County Bulldogs.

In what was supposed to be a dangerous warmup game before Monday’s area showdown at Eufaula, the Trojans ended a difficult week on a positive note as they crushed the Bulldogs 12-0 and 12-2 at Frazier Field.

The Trojans bats were hot as the weather as they scored all 12 runs in the first two innings of the opener. After Will Jones led off with a single, he stole second and scored on a RBI triple off the Blue Monster by Scott Stetson to give CHHS a 1-0 lead. One batter later, Jason Barron laced an RBI double to right center field scoring Stetson to increase the lead to 2-0. In the latter stages of the inning, the Trojans capped it off in grand style when Kevin Stephens drove in a run before Jarvis Woods and Pete Van Horn each delivered consecutive two RBI doubles. The Trojans (14-6) completed the opening inning with a seven run outburst.

In the bottom of the second, the Trojans continued their onslaught scoring five runs. The key blow of the inning was a two RBI single by Barron scoring pinch runners Fred Jones and Brett Pierce. The game ended after five innings due to the 10-run rule as CHHS played error-less baseball en route to the win.

Meanwhile, senior pitcher David Taylor went the distance to earn the win. Taylor pitching five innings allowing no runs on one hit while striking out four without giving up a walk for the Trojans.

In Game Two, the Bulldogs (7-14) looked as if they were going to strike for a big inning in the top of the first. After a James Windham solo run gave GCHS a 1-0 lead, the Bulldogs

had first and third with one out ready to make the afternoon interesting. However, Stetson came on in relief for Van Horn and got

Wes Windham to hit into a 4-6-3 double play ending the inning.

The Trojans carried the momentum forward into the bottom of the first scoring five runs to take the lead for good. After Jones reached on a infield hit, Justin Sims doubled putting two runners in scoring position with one out. One batter later, Barron hit a towering three run homer over the 330 foot mark to give CHHS a 3-1 edge.

After Clint Pugh reached on an error, the Trojans struck with the long ball again when Stephens delivered a two run homer near the exact spot of Barron’s blow to cap a five run first inning for CHHS.

In the top of the second, the Bulldogs threatened again as they loaded the bases with two outs. For the second straight inning, the Trojan defense delivered in the clutch as Roderick Burden made a running catch in right center field to save a pair of runs from scoring for GCHS.

For the rest of the afternoon, the Trojans slowly but surely pulled away scoring seven runs in the final five innings to earn its second straight 10-run rule win on the day. Taylor added a solo home run while Jones and Burden added three hits each in the winning effort.

However, CHHS head coach Steve Garrett said he had mixed thoughts about

the Trojans’ performance.

"I thought we played really well in the first game," Garrett said. "I thought we played aggressive at the plate in the first game. In the second game, we got lackadaisical doing things such as batting out of order and committing an error (in the sixth inning). Sometimes when getting a big lead, you tend to get complacent."

On the other hand, Garrett said he was pleased with the pitching Taylor and Stetson for the way they shutdown Geneva County’s bats.

After playing at Eufaula Monday, the Trojans return to action on Thursday afternoon when they host Cottonwood. The first pitch is set for 5 p.m.