If the Lowndes High Vikings have a four-run lead late in the game, the odds are pretty good they’re going to win. The Vikings have a comfortable lead in the Region 1-6A rankings and, as of Monday, were the #2-ranked 6A team in the state.
But someone forgot to tell the Coffee Trojans.
Tuesday night at Charles Wilson Field, Coffee trailed Lowndes 8-4 after five innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the Trojans flipped the game on its head with a four-run inning that knotted the game at eight apiece. Ben Fussell singled in Eli Wood. Jimmy Timothy drove in Evan Lingenfelter on a groundout, advancing Fussell to second and Eli Vickers to third in the process. Then Barrett Harrell connected on an 0-1 pitch and singled to center, clearing the bases to tie the game 8-8.
Neither team did much in the seventh inning and Lowndes went down quietly in the top of the eighth.
The Trojans, however, didn’t follow suit. Vickers led off the bottom of the inning with a single. Fussell stepped into the box and fouled off several pitches. On a 2-2 count, he tripled in the gap in right center, which brought Morgan Lewis, who was pinch running for Vickers, around to score the game-winning run.
Fussell was 4-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Harrell and Gavin McElroy each had three hits and drove in two. Timothy had two hits and scored twice.
McElroy (3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and Will Walker (5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) handled the pitching duties for Coffee.
It’s also worth noting that Tuesday night might be the first time that sons of former Major Leaguers have played each other at Charles Wilson Field. Coffee’s Hunter Klesko, son of former Braves slugger Ryan Klesko, was in the lineup as the Trojans’ designated hitter while Lowndes’s Hunter Drew, son of Stephen Drew, who spent the majority of his 12-year career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, was the Vikings’ catcher. Drew was 1-3 with a two-run home run.
The Trojans are 17-11 this season and have one more regular season game left – a 6 p.m. rematch tomorrow with the Crisp County Cougars at Charles Wilson Field. After that, Coffee will await the final rankings to see who they play in the playoffs. If the postseason began today, Coffee would travel to Lassiter. Right now, the Trojans are ranked #10 in 5A while Lassiter sits at #23. Lassiter has one more region series left – a Friday night doubleheader against Region 6-5A leader (and 5A’s #1 team) Pope.
