The Coffee Trojans needed a win against the Veterans War Hawks to clinch the third seed in the playoffs. They would have three chances to do it – once on Tuesday then twice on Friday – but it would make things so much easier if they could pick up that win as early as possible.
They didn’t make it easy but win they did. The Trojans defeated the War Hawks 7-5 at Charles Wilson Field in Douglas to nail down the third seed. Veterans hit the ball well and benefited from some solid pitching. Defense, however, was the War Hawks’ Achilles heel. Veterans committed six errors, four of which came in the pivotal fifth inning in which Coffee scored four runs and took their first lead of the game, a 6-5 advantage.
Veterans came out ready to play. Their leadoff batter reached base in the first six innings. Shortstop Brandon Mercer homered his first two times at the plate, both two-run shots that gave the War Hawks a 4-2 lead after three innings. Veterans added a run in the fourth to go up 5-2.
In the fifth, the Trojans said enough was enough. They used a combination of timely hitting and taking advantage of their opponents’ miscues to take a 6-5 lead. With one out, Jimmy Timothy tripled. Michael Strickland reached on an error at third. Timothy had to stay put but Coffee had runners on the corners with one out. Connor Stewart followed and during his at-bat, Strickland stole second. Stewart doubled to left center, scoring Timothy and Strickland in the process. Brax Carson, the fifth batter in Coffee’s line-up, bunted down the third base line. Veterans committed two errors on the play, allowing Carson to reach safely and move to second. Stewart also scored to tie the game at five. Carson stole second during Taven Harden’s at-bat and went home when the throw sailed into left field.
The Trojans got into a little trouble in the top of the sixth. The War Hawks ended up with runners at second and third with nobody out. Michael Strickland, making a rare Tuesday night start for Coffee, picked off the runner at second. After surrendering a walk, he struck out the next two batters to end the threat with no damage done.
In the bottom of the sixth, with one out, Ben Fussell doubled on a 3-1 pitch. Timothy hit an opposite-field single that scored Fussell. Timothy was thrown out on the play for the second out of the inning. A strikeout ended the Trojans’ half of the sixth. The damage, though, had been done. Coffee had a 7-5 lead going into the final inning.
With Strickland approaching the max pitch count, he finally recorded his only 1-2-3 inning of the night to shut down the War Hawks and clinch the #3 seed.
Timothy was 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Fussell was 2-4 with two runs scored. Stewart drove in a pair. Strickland threw another complete game, throwing 113 pitches in the process.
The Trojans are now 14-11 on the season. They have two region games remaining – a doubleheader with Veterans Friday in Kathleen. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
The battle for the #1 seed will come down to the final day of the region schedule. Houston and Lee will play a doubleheader Friday in Leesburg to determine which team will win the region championship. Houston won Tuesday night; at the moment, the Bears are in first. That could very well change on Friday night if Lee can use the home field advantage to eclipse Houston. Along with Coffee at #3, Veterans is #4. That order will not change no matter what happens on Friday. The two teams that did not make the playoffs are Thomas County Central and Northside-Warner Robins.