St. Al’s Simmons, PCA’s Bliss key rallies
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, April 4, 2001
[04/04/01] Clay Simmons had a home run, triple, double and three RBIs to lead the Flashes (13-1, 9-0) to a 17-13 come-from-behind division win over Madison-St. Joe on Tuesday.
St. Joe opened a 9-2 lead after the second inning, but Ryan Hearn came in and pitched five innings, striking out five. Hearn had a double and four RBIs, and Walker Hengst had two hits and two RBIs as St. Al scored five in the sixth and six in the seventh.
“A lot of teams, when they get down 9-2, would close the doors, but this team never gives up,” St. Al coach Joe Graves said.
The Flashes can inch closer to a division title with a win at Puckett on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
PCA 10, Riverfield 3
Walter Bliss hit his first home run of the year, a two-run shot in the fifth inning, as Porters Chapel Academy came from behind to beat Riverfield in Rayville, La.
“I think we finally turned the corner with our bats,” said PCA coach Randy Wright, whose team cranked out 11 hits.
The Raiders beat PCA (14-5) in the season-opener.
T.J. Smith had a two-run single in the fourth as PCA overcame a 2-0 deficit and Trey White went 3-for-4. Clayton Hensley had an RBI double and two stolen bases, Kyle Ehrhardt drove in a run and Andrew Embry squeezed in Smith in the sixth. Bliss, who led Warren County with nine homers last year but hadn’t found his stroke in the first 18 games, finished with three RBIs. His home run went deep to center field.
Heath Smith (6-0) got the win, striking out eight and walking three while allowing two earned runs. He had given up just two earned runs all season.
Frank Hales took the loss.
“They’re a good solid team,” Wright said of the Triple-A program. “That’s a good win for us.
The Eagles’ game at Jackson Prep Wednesday was canceled. They will host River Oaks Thursday at 6.