Porters Chapel, Warren Central roll as baseball season kicks into gear

Published 11:00 pm Friday, February 24, 2017

Porters Chapel Academy got to pad its stats and its win total this week, all at the expense of Benton Academy.

Brandon Thompson went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, Brayden Ray drove in three runs, and Porters Chapel run-ruled Benton 13-3 in six innings Friday night for its second double-digit win over the Raiders in five days.

PCA (3-1) won 29-11 when the teams played in Benton on Monday, but that one was a lot more difficult. It took 11 innings and involved a comeback from an early 8-1 deficit as well as an 18-run rally in the top of the 11th.

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“I like to do it a little bit earlier,” PCA coach Wade Patrick joked about Friday’s game. “Especially that first game, that was a mirage. You’re not going to score 18 runs in an inning, ever. But it gave us confidence going into this game that we could hit against them, and that helps.”

PCA jumped on Benton for five runs in the bottom of the first inning Friday and was never threatened. Ray drove in the first two runs with a single, went to second on the throw to the infield, and then scored when a throw to second was wild for a little league home run and a 3-0 lead. Thompson had an RBI double later in the inning, and Kyle Guider an RBI single.

Thompson added an RBI single in the second inning and a two-run single in the fourth that made it 10-2.

“I want us to be consistent. I thought there was a little lull in the fourth, fifth inning, and that was with everybody in the ballpark. I’m glad to get a win, though, that’s for sure,” Patrick said.

PCA pitcher Bailey McMillian allowed two runs in five innings to earn the win. He struck out seven, walked two and gave up two walks. Guider pitched the sixth inning, and the Eagles scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to finish it by the 10-run mercy rule.

“Bailey pitched real well,” Patrick said. “All of our pitchers have to learn to throw strike one, fill up the zone and make them hit. He improved from his first time out, and that’s really what you’re looking for.”

Warren Central 10, Terry 0

Vantrel Reed went 2-for-3 with two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored, and also combined with Morgan Jarabica on a one-hitter as Warren Central opened the 2017 season by shutting out Terry.

Reed walked six batters, but only allowed one hit in 3 2/3 innings on the mound. He struck out two. Jarabica pitched the last 1 1/3 innings without giving up a hit.

Colton Norris and D.J. Lewis each scored two runs and drove in one for Warren Central, which blew the game open by scoring five times in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 9-0 lead. Lewis scored on a double by Reed in the fifth inning to end the game via the mercy rule.

Glenbrook 4, Tallulah Academy 1

Glenbrook pitchers Nick Mourad and Brandon Merritt combined on a no-hitter as Glenbrook beat Tallulah Academy (0-2).

Hagar Fortenberry reached on an error in the fourth inning, went to second on a ground out and third on a passed ball, and then scored on a ground out by Ethan Beene for Tallulah’s only run.

Cameron Barnett went 2-for-4 with a run scored for Glenbrook.

Marsh Wood pitched four innings for Tallulah and allowed four runs, two of them earned. He walked one batter and struck out two. Hudson Morris finished with two innings of scoreless relief.

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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