Chilton County scores early and often against Paul Bryant
Published 6:56 pm Thursday, April 14, 2016
By Brian Millican | Special to the Advertiser
Due to poor weather conditions, Chilton County had to reschedule Tuesday’s area matchup against Paul Bryant for Wednesday.
However, changing the game to a different day of the week did not change the Tigers’ ability to score runs in bunches.
The Tigers made the trip to Tuscaloosa on Wednesday and 10-run ruled the Stampede in Game 1 of the area series, 18-1 in five innings.
Corbin Bice drove in Cade Hatch with a single in the first to start the scoring for Chilton County. Tolliver Gilliland made the score 2-0 with an RBI single in the second.
The Tigers were able to plate five additional runs in the top of the third. Keaton Sullivan’s RBI double and another RBI single for Gilliland were the highlights of the inning.
The only run that Paul Bryant scored in the game was unearned.
In the bottom of the third, the leadoff man for the Stampede reached base on an error by the Tigers’ second baseman. A single moved the runner to third and a sacrifice fly scored him.
At the end of three, the Tigers led 7-1.
Chilton County blew the game wide open in the top of the fourth, scoring 10 runs and extending their lead to 17-1.
In the inning, Dustin Cleckler hit his 13th double of the season and drove in two runs to start the scoring affair. He eventually scored on a passed ball.
Kendall Davis earned an RBI the hard way, getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Cade Hatch followed Davis at the plate and drove in two runs with a single.
Bice then doubled, scoring both Davis and Hatch as the Tigers’ lead grew 15-1.
Hunter Bennett added a two-run double, and Giquon Lane hit an RBI single. At the end of four, the Tigers led by 16.
Bice topped off the high scoring game with an RBI single in the top of the fifth, driving in Colby Ramsey and giving the Tigers an 18-1 lead that they would not relinquish.
The 10-run rule was enforced and the Tigers won.
Gilliland picked up his seventh win of the season, pitching three innings and striking out three.
Bice pitched the final two innings in relief and picked up five strikeouts in the process.
The win is the third in a row for the Tigers, during which time they have outscored their opponents 50-4.
Chilton County has a 3-2 record in area play and an overall record of 18-11.
The two teams were scheduled to play again in a doubleheader on Thursday.
Chilton County needs to win one of the two in order to secure second place in their area and advance to the state playoffs.
In the event that the Tigers win the first game on Thursday, the second game will not be necessary.