JACKSON County coach Tommy Fountain said his team had a much better approach at the plate Friday night, and it’s hard to argue with the results.
The Panthers pounded out 13 hits and scored at least 10 runs for the second straight game in a 12-2, run-rule shortened victory over Class AAAA Clarke Central at home.
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“I think the bats are coming around,” Fountain said.
Jackson County scored 10 of its 12 runs in the final three innings, bringing the mercy rule into play in the bottom of the sixth when Kolin Zimmer singled home Jesse Tallent to put Jackson County ahead by 10 scores.
The Panthers were coming off a 10-1 win Feb. 28 over Washington-Wilkes, giving Jackson County 22 runs in a two-game stretch. Fountain said this is a team that he feels should produce runs.
“When you have 11 seniors on the roster you’re supposed to be able to swing it,” Fountain said.
Trey Sorrells — who had been 1-for-10 coming into the game — broke out of an early-season slump with four RBIs. That included a three-run triple in the bottom of the fourth that broke the game open and put the Panthers up 5-0. Sorrells also threw out four base runners from his catcher’s position.
On the mound, Jalen Banks, who pitched four and one-third innings, turned out a quality start despite some control problems. Though he walked five, he surrendered just two hits and no runs, while striking out five. Banks pitched in intermittent rain during the early innings.
“He was a little wild,” Fountain said. “I think some of that had to do with it getting wet. But overall he pitched pretty good.”
Some interesting base running sequences preceded Sorrells’ game-breaking hit in the fourth.
Jackson County took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third by having pinch runner Tyler Kropp get caught in a rundown off first, allowing Quinn Grogan to score from third. Kropp made it back safely to first.
In the bottom of the fourth — with Chase Dunlap on first and Austin Robinson on second — Robinson rounded third on a single from Tallent with the intention of scoring. But Robinson slipped on the wet grass and returned to third. That left Dunlap — nearly at third himself — and Tallent scrambling to backtrack. Dunlap was able to beat the throw back to second and Tallent returned safely to first. Sorrells made sure Jackson County didn’t waste the opportunity by ripping a triple over the centerfielder’s head to bring home three runs to give the Panthers a 5-0 lead.
A sacrifice fly RBI from Andy Williams two batters later upped the lead to 6-0.
Jackson County poured it on from there with a run-scoring infield single from Sorrells in the fifth and RBIs from Robinson (two-run single), Dunlap (ground out to score a run), Tallent (RBI ground-rule double) and Zimmer (run-scoring single) in the sixth.
Tallent finished with two RBIs as he also drove home the game’s first run with a ground out in the second inning that scored Robinson.
Jackson County returns to action tomorrow (Saturday) with a long road trip to Washington-Wilkes. Game time is 2 p.m.
