By Staff
Priceville squeaks by West Morgan and Fairview; Bulldogs fall to Blue Devils
Justin Schuver and Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Priceville 8
West Morgan 7
Matt Croft hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning and Jeremy Beileiter pitched six strong innings in relief as Priceville defeated West Morgan Thursday afternoon.
After the Bulldogs took an early lead with an unearned run in the first inning, Priceville starter Lance Hughes ran into trouble in the top of the second, walking the bases full with nobody out. Hughes then hit a batter and walked another to bring in two West Morgan runs and force coach Shane Hopkins to call for Beileiter in relief. The Rebels scored five runs in the inning to take a 5-1 lead, but Priceville was able to slowly sneak back into the game.
Senior right fielder Hunter Teague had a two-RBI triple in the bottom of the second and came around to score on Aaron Sawyer's two-out RBI single that cut the lead to one.
West Morgan scored again in the top of the third inning but Priceville picked up a run of its own in the bottom of the fifth on a lineout by Beileiter that was deep enough to score Croft from third base.
Beileiter ran into a bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth inning, but struck out Ricky Marshall to end the threat. Beileiter finished the game with six strikeouts.
Eli Allen drew a one-out walk in the sixth inning, moved to second on Teague's groundout and came around to score on a double by Sawyer. Sawyer came home one batter later as the sophomore Croft launched a shot beyond the centerfield fence even though the win was blowing in.
West Morgan scored a run in the top of the seventh and had the potential tying run at second base when Beileiter got the Rebels' Josh McAbee to line out harmlessly to right field to end the game.
Falkville, Priceville each grab win in triple header
Falkville's Blue Devils and Priceville's Bulldogs each claimed a win in a baseball triple header in Falkville on Saturday.
The Blue Devils fell to the Fairview Aggies 3-12 in the opening game but bounced back to edge the Bulldogs 14-13 in the nightcap. In between, the Bulldogs edged Fairview, 9-8.
Falkville grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning but it didn't hold up for long. The Aggies surged ahead in the third on a three-run homer by Jared Taylor, added three runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and four in the seventh. The Blue Devils rallied in the sixth inning, scoring three runs and leaving the bases loaded.
Falkville's Cody Simpson was credited with a double and a single, knocked in two runs and scored twice. Trevor Mayer and Lacy Thomas each singled.
Taylor had a single in addition to his homer for Fairview. Nathan Weldon also had a homer and a single and Luke Davis added three singles.
Casey Kelly was the winning pitcher. He hurled seven innings, allowing just four hits while walking two batters, hitting two and posting four strikeouts.
Falkville's Kevin Russell was the loser. He allowed 12 hits, two walks and had six strikeouts while going the distance.
In the next game, Dustin Chamber paced the Bulldogs in their win over Fairview. He went two for three at the plate with a home run and a single. Aaron Sawyer had a double and a single and Rand Hutchison had a pair of singles.
Priceville's Jez Beileiter picked up his third win against no losses in relief. Will Stevens pitched four shutout innings.
Simpson led Falkville over Priceville in the triple-header finale by picking up three hits in five trips to the plate. Jeremy Stiles added a pair of hits.
Aaron Sawyer paced Priceville at the plate with a pair of doubles and a single. Wes Long added a double and a single.
Falkville finished the games with a 3-5 overall record while Priceville moved to 8-5.