By Brandon Sumrall/Special to The Advertiser

The Chilton County Tigers baseball team played host to the Marbury Bulldogs on Feb. 20 to get the 2015 season underway, and after dropping Game 1, 7-4, were able to rebound to pick up a 5-2 win in Game 2.

Trailing 5-0 in the fourth inning, a leadoff single by Garren Minor gave the Tigers their first runner of the game in the bottom half of the fourth inning. Cade Hatch reached base on a fielder’s choice, while Hunter Bennett reached on a single, and with Trenton Bishop being hit by a pitch, the Tigers had the bases loaded with one out.

A swinging strikeout and a fly ball to left field, however, brought the inning to a close, keeping the score at 5-0 in favor of the Bulldogs.

The Tigers broke the shutout in the home half of the fifth inning with a Hatch double to left field scoring Colby Ramsey—who reached on a single—along with Giquon Lane who reached on an infield error.

After five innings, the Bulldogs led, 6-2.

The Bulldogs added on one more in the top half of the sixth inning to make it a 7-2 lead for Marbury.

Bishop started the home half of the sixth by reaching on an error and scored on a triple by Bice. An infield ground by Jacob Skinner scored Bice as the Tigers cut the lead to three after six innings of play, 7-4.

As both teams went quietly through the seventh, the Bulldogs came away with the win, 7-4.

Both teams showed little firepower through the first inning of Game 2, and after a three-up, three-down inning by the Bulldogs in the top of the second inning, the Tigers struck first with one run in the bottom of the inning, as Skinner drove in Bishop who reach base on a double to right center.

With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the third, an infield ground ball and a strikeout by Tigers’ pitcher Tolliver Gilliland brought the Marbury scoring threat to an end.

The fourth inning came and went before the Bulldogs took the lead with a two-run top of the fifth.

A Brett Spires single and a Jared Nixon double led to a two-run double by William Lyons to give Marbury a 2-1 lead going to the bottom of the fifth inning.

With Dalton Green reaching on a leadoff error, two hit batsmen and a walk led to another Tigers run as well as a tied game at 2-2 after five innings of play.

Another scoreless inning by the Bulldogs set Chilton County up for a three-run bottom of the sixth.

Colby Ramsey and Dalton Green each reached safely to start the inning, while Garren Minor reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Ramsey.

An infield grounder from Hatch resulted in a Marbury error and two Tiger runs to give CCHS a 5-2 lead.

Nixon blasted his second home run of the evening to start the top of the seventh, but it was not enough to propel the Bulldogs to the win, as the Tigers held on to take Game 2, 5-2.

Ramsey led the Tigers at the plate, going a combined 4-of-6 with two singles and two doubles.

Nixon led Marbury, going 4-for-6 with two home runs, two doubles and two RBI.