The ride that the Northside-Warner Robins Eagles took to get to Douglas for their game against the Coffee Trojans at Charles Wilson Field Tuesday may have taken longer than the actual game itself. Coffee defeated Northside 15-1 in four and a half innings after a 12-run fourth inning capped by a Hunter Klesko no-doubt grand slam to right. It was the Trojans’ second home run of the inning; Barrett Harrell hit a two-run shot earlier in the frame.
Northside jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second. The Eagles’ advantage lasted just an inning; the Trojans jumped out in front 3-1 after an Eli Wood sacrifice fly scored Harrell and a Conley McDaniel double scored Jimmy Timothy and Taeven Harden.
The score remained 3-1 until the Coffee offense came to life an inning later and broke the game wide open. In the fourth, Taeven Harden was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Then Harrell hit a one-out two-run home run to give the Trojans a 5-1 lead. Gavin McElroy kept things going with a triple followed by a Timothy walk. Taeven Harden got plunked for the second time of the inning to load the bases. Wood walked to score McElroy. Will Walker was next with a single that scored Timothy to put the Trojans up 7-1. Evan Lingenfelter kept the rally going with a single that drove in Taeven Harden. Taeven’s cousin, Reid Harden, walked, bringing in Wood and adding to Coffee’s lead. The merry-go-round continued with Morgan Lewis, plating another run and increasing the advantage to 10-1. With Harrell at the plate, courtesy runner Will Day scored on a passed ball. Harrell reached on a walk to load the bases.
That brought Klesko to the plate for his first at-bat of the game. He didn’t waste any time and launched the first pitch he saw toward Highway 441 for a long grand slam. The door on Northside was almost closed when Klesko stepped to the plate. His home run effectively slammed it shut.
The Trojans wouldn’t score any more runs in the fourth and the Eagles would go quietly in the top of the fifth to end the game via run rule.
Harrell was 2-3 with a home run, three runs scored, and two RBI. Wood and McDaniel each drove in two. Klesko was 1-1 with his one hit, of course, being the fourth-inning grand slam.
Eli Vickers picked up the win. He scattered five hits across three innings. He struck out three, didn’t walk anyone, and gave up one earned run. Lingenfelter closed out the final two innings with three strikeouts of his own.
The Trojans are 11-5 overall and 4-3 in region competition after splitting a doubleheader with the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets Friday. Coffee won game one 3-0 in eight innings but lost game two 7-0.
The Trojans continue the series with Northside with a Friday afternoon doubleheader in Warner Robins.
