The Coffee Trojans finished the first week of region play with a 2-1 mark after splitting a doubleheader with the Lee County Trojans Friday night at Charles Wilson Field in Douglas. Coffee won game one 5-4 in eight innings but couldn’t keep up with Lee in game two, falling 10-3.
Lee got to Coffee starter Gavin McElroy early, starting things off with three hits and a walk that led to two runs. A double play and a strikeout ended the rally. Coffee tied things up in the bottom of the inning when Barrett Harrell doubled with one out, scoring Ben Fussell and Jimmy Timothy.
The home team went up 3-2 in the second on a single by Fussell that scored Will Walker. Coffee held the lead until the sixth inning when Lee scored two to gain a 4-3 advantage. In the bottom of the frame, Coffee pulled even with Lee on a Fussell sacrifice fly that scored Taeven Harden.
Nobody could score in the seventh, which forced extra innings. Lee managed a two-out single in the eighth but couldn’t get the runner past first. For Coffee, McElroy led off the bottom of the eighth with a single. Carter McMillan was hit by a pitch, which moved the winning run into scoring position. Eli Vickers bunted to the pitcher but everyone was safe, loading the bases for Fussell. He lifted the first pitch he saw to left center, which allowed McElroy to tag from third and score the game-winning run.
Walker and Vickers had two hits. Fussell drove in three and Harrell drove in two.
McElroy went 7 2/3 innings and threw 110 pitches – a long outing for a no-decision. He gave up four earned runs on seven hits while striking out nine and walking three. Eli Wood threw three pitches in a third of an inning for the win.
Game two, however, was a different story. Lee jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two innings then added a run in the fourth and two in the sixth. Coffee scored one run in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Timothy led the way at the plate, going 3-4 with a triple and a run. Fussell was 2-4 with an RBI.
Coffee used three pitchers during the game. Fussell started and took the loss in two innings of work. McMillan threw 3 1/3 innings while Will Day finished out the game with 1 2/3 inning outing.
Coffee is 9-3 and faces the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets next week. TCC travels to Douglas for a single game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Coffee hits Friday for a doubleheader beginning at 4:30 p.m.
