The Coffee Trojans appeared to have the region opener against the Lee County Trojans in hand. Then Lee mounted a seventh-inning comeback that ended Coffee’s quest to start region play with an important win.
Lee jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second. Then Coffee answered with four in the third. Jimmy Timothy led off with a double then Brax Carson was hit by a pitch. Connor Stewart laid down a bunt but reached on an error by the Lee defense. The miscue scored Timothy and Carson to tie the game at two. A couple of batters later, with the bases loaded and one out, Will Walker was hit by a pitch, which scored Stewart to give Coffee a 3-2 lead and leave the bases loaded. Barrett Harrell walked, scoring Carter McMillan to put Coffee ahead 4-2. Coffee added a run in the fifth on a two-out single by Timothy that scored Walker. Coffee had a 5-2 lead with only six outs to go.
But Lee wasn’t done yet. They scored three in the sixth to tie the game at five. Coffee answered in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead. Stewart led things off with a double and moved to third on a ground out by McMillan. Gavin McElroy followed with a single that drove in Stewart. Coffee went quietly after that but headed into the final inning with a 6-5 advantage.
Coffee retired Brent Smith to get a big first out in the seventh. Then things went awry. Brendan Nash walked then Graysen Spears doubled. However, a throwing error allowed both Nash and Spears to score, giving Lee a 7-6 lead with one out in the seventh. The last two Lee hitters struck out to end the inning with Coffee down by a run.
In the bottom of the inning, Ben Fussell led off with a single. But that’s all the noise Coffee would make and Lee slipped out of Coffee County with a one-run victory.
Timothy and Stewart each had two hits. Stewart also scored twice. McElroy threw five solid innings, giving up two runs (both earned) on four hits. He struck out seven and walked seven. Fussell, Coffee’s fourth pitcher of the day, took the loss.
Coffee is 3-6 overall and 0-1 in region play. They finish the season series with Lee on Friday in Leesburg with a double-header. Game one begins at 4:30 p.m.