The Coffee Trojans improved to 5-0 Friday night with a 5-2 win over the Richmond Hill Wildcats at Charles Wilson Field.
Junior Michael Strickland (2-0) got the win and went 1-3 with a solo home run (2) in the first inning. Senior catcher Payton Bryant put the Trojans up for good with a two-run home run (1) in the bottom of the fourth. Bryant was 1-3 with a pair of RBI for Coffee.
The Wildcats scored two in the top of the first after a Trojan error. Strickland cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame with his home run. After that, Coffee settled down and waited until an opportunity presented itself.
That opportunity came in the bottom of the fourth. Senior second baseman Cannon Jones reached on an infield single. Then sophomore shortstop Ben Fussell hit a grounder to third, which forced Jones at second. A strikeout gave the Trojans two outs with Fussell on second. That’s when Bryant went to work. He connected with a Bryce Hendricks offering and sent a line drive over the left field fence for a two-run home run to put the Trojans up 3-2.
And Coffee never looked back.
They added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth then retired the Wildcats quietly in the sixth and seventh for their fifth straight win this season. The Trojans are ranked #7 in 5A in the state. Coffee is in action again at home on Saturday, February 24, 2024, against Christian Heritage (Dalton) at 2 p.m. Ben Fussell is scheduled to start Saturday for the Trojans.
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