Indianola hands PCA tough defeat|Prep baseball

Published 12:00 am Saturday, April 18, 2009

Some of the same problems that have plagued Porters Chapel Academy at times this season reared their head again on senior night at Pierce Field.

Indianola Academy took advantage of seven walks and four errors to beat the Eagles 8-6 on Friday night. The win ends Indianola’s season, but the Eagles will head to the MPSA Class A playoffs. PCA (17-8) opens the playoffs on Tuesday at Glenbrook, and Game 2 of the best-of-three series will be Thursday at Pierce Field. Game 3, if necessary, is next Friday at Glenbrook.

“We’ve had trouble this year in certain games with walks and errors and tonight it ate us up,” PCA coach Randy Wright said. “This was kind of like the game we played up there and lost 8-5. They (Indianola) make the routine plays. Their shortstop (Robert Wright) made a ton of plays up there and he made some more tonight.”

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Indianola coach Cleat Putman felt his centerfielder, Caleb Dodson, made perhaps the biggest play when he tracked down a towering shot by Eagle clean-up hitter Joe Borrello in the bottom of the seventh inning.

With two on and one out, Borrello represented the game’s tying run. He jumped on the first pitch from Indianola starter Ty Smith and made solid contact, but got under it just a bit. Dodson made the catch near the fence as the Colonels traded a run for an out as Colby Rushing scored from third to make it 8-6.

Josh Perry followed with a double to move Montana McDaniel, who reached on an infield hit, to third and give the Eagles another chance for a tie. Smith, however, got Josh Hill to pop up to shallow center and Robert Wright made the catch to end the game.

“We had some opportunities to win the game,” Randy Wright said.

The Eagles outhit the Colonels 12-8, but Indianola (13-13) was able to get more help thanks to the walks and errors.

Indianola struck for three runs in the second inning against Borrello, who went the first three innings for PCA. A walk, a bad throw on a bunt and a double by Dalton Deloach set up the scoring.

Two more walks in the third set up an RBI double by Thomas Moore to make it 4-0. A high throw from short allowed Tyler Johnson, to score to up the lead to 5-0.

The Eagles came back with three in their half of the third. McDaniel singled up the middle to score Jacob Rachal, who had led off with a walk. Clayton Holmes and McDaniel later scored on a booted ball at third to make it 5-3.

Both teams got a run each in the fourth, but Indianola got two more in the fifth to take an 8-4 lead. Reed Gordon, who came on to relieve Borrello, got hurt by another bad throw from the infield and two walks. Moore scored on a hit by Zach Whitfield and Deloach rumbled home after a poor relay throw home.

PCA got a run back in the sixth when Hill doubled and scored on a single by Matt Warren.

Colby Rushing led PCA with three hits. McDaniel had two, as did Perry and Hill.

Ty Smith went all seven innings to grab the win for the Colonels. Whitfield, James Shamoun, Moore and Deloach all had two hits for Indianola.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com