The Pike Liberal Arts Patriots began their state title defense with an 8-2 win over rival Fort Dale in the season opener on Tuesday night in Greenville.

After winning their first state title since 2012, the Patriots are in search for another. They began their season on a high note with a win on opening day.

Clay Barron pitched two innings for the Patriots. He allowed three hits and walked one and left the game after allowing two unearned runs.

Holt Steed replaced Barron on the mound and pitched two shutout innings while allowing three hits and three walks. He struck out three batters. Chandler Golden pitched three innings and allowed one hit, while striking out six batters.

Trevor Barron and Tristan Carter led the Patriots at the plate. Both racked up two hits. Carter had one RBI, while Carter finished with two. Max Copeland and Golden had the two other hits for the Patriots.

The Patriots fell behind early when they allowed two runs on two hits in the second inning.

The Patriots pulled even and went ahead in the top of the third inning when they scored four runs. Copeland walked with the bases for the Patriots’ first run of the 2019 season. Carter put the Patriots up 3-2 with a line drive double to center to drive in both Trevor Barron and Steed. Copeland scored the inning’s final run on a groundout by Scott Taylor Renfroe.

The Patriots increased their lead to three at 5-2 in the fourth when Javon Christian came around to score on a Max Copeland single to right.

The Patriots pulled away one inning later when Golden doubled on a line drive to center to drive in both Renfroe and Davis Allen to put the Patriots up 7-2.

The Patriots scored their final run in the top half of the seventh inning when Trevor Barron drove in Cody Hollis on a sacrifice fly to right field.

The Patriots will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Lee-Scott. They junior varsity will begin the day at 4:00 p.m. The varsity will follow shortly.