Every Trojan in the lineup had a hit in Coffee’s 14-8 win over the 7A Colquitt County Packers Thursday in Moultrie. The win was the Trojans’ second over the Packers this season and improved the Trojans to 11-1.
The two teams were tied 3-3 after four innings when Coffee erupted for five runs to take an 8-3 lead in the fifth. Ben Fussell led off the inning with a single. Cannon Jones was hit by a pitch, moving Fussell to second with nobody out. Michael Strickland followed with a walk to load the bases. Payton Bryant came up next and hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Fussell and moving Jones to third. Ben Roberts walked to load the bases again. The carousel continued with a Zae Smith walk. Jones scored on Smith’s walk. The run gave the Trojans a 5-3 lead, still with nobody out. Connor Stewart was up next. During his at-bat, Strickland scored on a wild pitch to put Coffee up 6-3 and move Roberts to third and Smith to second. Stewart walked, loading the bases for the second time in the inning. Carter McMillan singled to center, scoring Roberts and Smith in the process. The Packers got the next two Trojans out to stop the rally with Coffee up 8-3.
The Packers, however, weren’t ready to lay down. The matched Coffee in the bottom of the sixth with five runs of their own to tie the score again, this time at eight apiece.
In the top of the seventh, the Trojans scored six more runs to put the game away. Hunter Bennett bunted with Connor Stewart and Eli Vickers on with no outs. A throwing error on Bennett’s bunt scored Stewart and Vickers to give Coffee the lead again. Next, Ben Fussell singled to right to score Bennett. Fussell’s RBI gave Coffee an 11-8 lead. Bryant then reached on an error that scored Fussell to put the Trojans ahead 12-8. With Ben Roberts at the plate and one out, Coffee scored two more runs — one on a balk, the other on a passed ball — to go up 14-8. The Packers recorded the second out when Roberts, who eventually walked, was caught stealing second. A strikeout ended the inning with the Trojans leading by six.
Colquitt went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh to end the inning.
Fussell and Roberts had two hits. McMillan drove in three. Fussell, Jones, Bryant, Roberts, and Smith each scored twice.
Coffee used three pitchers Thursday afternoon. Strickland started and went 5 2/3 innings, surrendering six runs (five earned) on seven hits. He walked three and struck out seven. McMillan came in next followed by Bryant, who picked up the win in 1 1/3 innings. He didn’t give up a hit or a run but he did walk two Packers. Bryant also struck out a pair of Colquitt hitters.
The Trojans are off this weekend as they prepare for the region schedule, which begins Tuesday when Greenbrier comes to town for a 5 p.m. matchup.
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