Tallulah Academy beats WCCA to force Game 3 in MAIS baseball semifinal series
Published 8:08 pm Thursday, May 9, 2024
- Tallulah Academy baseball player Gage Palmer went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and one run scored in an 8-0 win over Wilkinson County Christian Academy in Game 2 of their MAIS Class 2A playoff series on Thursday.
Tallulah Academy is not ready to pack it in just yet.
Hayes Hopkins pitched a complete-game shutout, and Luke Moberley and Gage Palmer had three hits each as Tallulah Academy beat Wilkinson County Christian Academy 8-0 in Game 2 of their MAIS Class 2A baseball semifinal series on Thursday.
The Trojans (23-10) evened the best-of-three series at 1-1. The deciding Game 3 is Friday at 5 p.m. at Tallulah, with the winner claiming the Class 2A South State championship and advancing to the state finals against Kemper Academy.
Tallulah is trying to reach the state finals for the third time in four years. It lost Game 1 on Tuesday, but bounced back nicely in Game 2.
J.T. McDaniel led off the game with a single, stole second and third, and scored on Moberley’s single for a quick 1-0 lead. Moberley scored later in the first inning.
The Trojans eventually blew it open with four runs in the fifth inning, and added single runs in the sixth and seventh. Palmer hit an RBI double during the fifth-inning rally, while Tripp Gayle, Logan Hallmen and Hayden Deweese each hit RBI singles.
Palmer finished 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and one run scored. Moberley was 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored. Gayle also had two singles, one RBI, and scored twice, and Deweese had two RBIs.
Hopkins was the only one of Tallulah’s nine starters who did not have a hit — he walked once and scored a run — but he more than made up for it on the mound. The senior scattered six hits, only walked one batter, and had five strikeouts.