Prater’s BBQ and Southern Standard each evened their records Tuesday night with a pair of one-run wins in the boys 9-10 junior league.
Prater’s BBQ was able to hold off Womack Printing 3-2 while Southern Standard stood tall to beat Pigeon Hill Farms 4-3. With the victories, both teams moved into third place in the league with 2-2 records.
Layne Roberts finished with 10 strikeouts for Prater’s BBQ while earning the win on the mound. Taylor Hillis and Jake Rains each had RBI hits in the victory.
Hillis put Prater’s BBQ ahead early when his triple scored Cullen Lopez, who started the bottom of the first inning with a single off Womack Printing starter Taylor Smith. Hillis would score on the following play when Roberts hit a grounder to second base.
Rains’ single in the fourth inning gave Prater’s BBQ a 3-1 lead when Christopher Veach scored from second.
Womack Printing started the scoring in Tuesday’s game. Following back-to-back singles by Nathan Elrod and Smith, Logan Earls hit a ground ball to shortstop that allowed Elrod to score.
Roberts shut down Womack Printing for the next four innings, but ran into trouble in the top of the sixth inning.
A lead-off walk to Smith gave Womack Printing a runner and he wouldn’t stay at first base long. Smith moved into scoring position on stolen bases and was able to swipe home to get his team within one run of tying the game.
Roberts settled down at the perfect moment though. Roberts got Reagan Woodlee swinging for his 10th strikeout and retired Matthew Young to end the game.
In Tuesday’s first game, Southern Standard survived a see-saw battle with Pigeon Hill Farms for its second victory.
Southern Standard took the lead for good in the bottom of the third with two runs and added an insurance run in the fourth to secure the win.
Following RBI singles by Nate Simmons and Riley Morton, Pigeon Hill Farms went into the bottom of the third inning leading 2-1. Southern Standard would battle back on top by showing patience at the plate.
Five straight walks plated two runs for Southern Standard as Trad Grizzle and C.J. Anthony strolled into home. Pigeon Hill Farms used three pitchers in the frame, with Kyle Johnson finally being able to end the inning with a strikeout and groundout back to the pitcher.
Anthony was able to score Alec Hobbs in the fourth inning to put his team ahead 4-2. It proved to be a valuable run for Southern Standard.
In the top of the fifth inning, Braden Marcum scored Curtlan George with a single to cut the deficit in half. Pigeon Hill Farms fell one run short though as Hobbs – who entered in the fourth inning – struck out back-to-back batters in the fifth inning while the tying run stood at third base.
It was the perfect end for a big night for Hobbs. The Southern Standard lead-off hitter finished with two hits, including a lead-off triple in the first inning. Hobbs also earned the save while Grizzle was the winning pitcher.