By Brandon Sumrall / Special to the Advertiser

The eighth-ranked team in the state picked up win No. 13 of the season March 22, as the Maplesville Red Devils took to the road and knocked off area rival Isabella 13-2.

A leadoff walk for Thomas Schoener appeared early to be all the offense the Red Devils would muster in the first inning after a pair of consecutive outs. However, a two-out rally by Maplesville would see the Red Devils tack on three runs in the first inning. A fielder’s choice single by Wallace Hobbs would score Schoener while a triple by Noah Wells would score Hobbs. Add in a RBI single by Osvaldo Tapia, and the visiting Red Devils took an early 3-0 lead.

A three up and three down bottom half of the first inning would give way to the top of the second inning where Maplesville would add four more runs to their tally. Three consecutive errors by the Mustangs would load the bases for Maplesville with only one out on the board. A bases-loaded walk to Christin Brown and a hit by pitch to Hobbs would score two more for the Red Devils, while a fielder’s choice single by Noah Wells would add one more. One more walk on the inning issued to Steven Grey would make it a 7-0 Maplesville lead.

A one-out single by Anthony Fjeldstad would be all the offense for the Mustangs in the bottom half of the second, while the top of the third would come and go with no change in the score.

A leadoff single by Micah Drinkard in the home half of the third would lead to the Mustangs’ first run of the game. Action would move to the fourth with Maplesville leading 7-1.

A scoreless fourth inning for both teams would give way to the Red Devils starting the top of the fifth with a leadoff single from Schoener that would set up a two-out RBI single from Brown. The Mustangs would answer with a run of their own during the home half of the inning thanks to a triple from Tyler Durham that would set up a RBI single from Jamie Peterson.

Heading to the sixth, Maplesville held an 8-2 lead.

A scorless sixth inning would give way to the Red Devils tacking on five more in the top half of the seventh. A leadoff single by Noah Chambers and a walk to Schoener preceded a RBI single by Abbott. Brown would follow with a two-RBI double, and Gavin Jones hit a two-RBI single. Maplesville would go to the bottom of the seventh with a 13-2 lead.

Three strikeouts later by Maplesville pitcher Brown and the Red Devils would seal the victory.

Brown threw a complete game for the Red Devils allowing only one earned run on three hits with one walk, and 16 strikeouts. Wells lea Maplesville at the plate with a 2 for 3 performance with a single, triple, and two RBI’s.

Durham got the start for Isabella on the mound and threw one and a third innings while allowing three earned runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Durham, Fjeldstad, and Drinkard each picked up hits for Isabella.