Games one and two couldn’t have been more different on Friday night in Warner Robins. The Northside Eagles defeated the Coffee Trojans 3-2 in the first game of a region doubleheader. The Trojans flipped the script in game two and won 15-0 in six innings. Two Coffee pitchers in the nightcap – Evan Lingenfelter and Carter McMillan – combined for a one-hit shutout while the Trojan offense scored in every inning except the fourth.
In game one, Coffee plated a single run in the second and fifth innings. In the second, Hunter Klesko and Taeven Harden both walked. Will Walker bunted them to second and third, respectively. Eli Vickers grounded to third and reached on an error, which allowed Klesko to score for a 1-0 Coffee lead.
The Eagles went up 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run home run off the bat of Emerson Rugama. The Trojans tied the game at two in the top of the fifth with a bases-loaded, two-out walk by Walker that scored Ben Fussell.
Northside answered in the sixth when Caden Nelson led off with a triple to center. After a strikeout, Taylor Hall hit a fly ball out to right that allowed Nelson to tag from third and score. The run staked a 3-2 lead for the Eagles – an advantage that would hold for the win.
Jimmy Timothy tripled while Fussell and Gavin McElroy both doubled. Taeven Harden walked three times while Klesko walked twice. Walker and Vickers both drove in runs for the Trojans.
Wood threw 50 pitches in 5 1/3 innings, giving up three runs (all earned) on four hits. He struck out four and didn’t walk anyone. McElroy closed out the game and made short order of the Eagles, throwing just four pitches and striking out one.
In game two, the Trojans took control early and never let up. Four of their eight hits went for extra bases (including a triple by Timothy and a home run by Fussell) and they took advantage of seven Eagles errors to quickly distance themselves from their opponents.
Coffee scored two in the first, three in the second, one in the third, two in the fifth, and seven in the sixth. Northside, meanwhile, never scored and the game ended in the sixth via run rule.
Conley McDaniel, Timothy, and Fussell each had two hits for Coffee. McDaniel and Timothy doubled while Timothy tripled for the second time in the doubleheader. Barrett Harrell #walked three times and scored three runs. Timothy also drove in three while Fussell and McDaniel drove in two. Harrell and Timothy scored three runs. Reid Harden, Morgan Lewis, and Fussell scored twice.
Lingenfelter allowed one hit over five innings. He struck out seven and didn’t surrender a walk. McMillan threw the final inning, striking out two.
The Trojans are now 12-6 overall and 5-4 in region play. This week, Coffee faces the #2-ranked Houston County Bears (14-4, 7-2) before getting a break from region play. Game one is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Charles Wilson Field in Douglas. Games two and three will be played Friday night in Warner Robins. The Trojans are ranked #7 in 5A and #3 in Region 2-5A.
After this week’s series with Houston, Coffee will play two games against Ware County before finishing the region schedule with a series against Veterans beginning April 7.
