David Emanuel Academy turned a deficit into a win Tuesday, defeating First Presbyterian Christian Academy 17-11 at Bradwell’s baseball field.
Although the Eagles managed some strong hits, the Highlanders committed several throwing errors in the infield, which allowed the Eagles to add to their runs scored. Highlander coach Joey Brown said the errors were not typical of the Highlanders.
"We did have a bad night defensively, which has not been the case before," Brown said. "Overall, we have been playing with very few errors. We talked after the game about the things we did that were both good and bad."
The loss dropped the Highlanders to 1-3 overall.
FPCA had a one-run lead going into the fourth inning, but the throwing errors let Eagle runners advance and score three runs. In the bottom of the fourth, the Highlanders had two runners on base and a shot out to center field tied the game at 7. The Highlanders loaded the bases but faced two outs. Eagles pitcher Seth Miller sank the Highlander batter to end the inning.
Looking at a new ball game, the Eagles got runners on first and third bases in the fifth inning. A David Emanuel batter hit a high infield ball, and even though two Highlanders went for it, no one called for the catch and the ball was not fielded. The Eagle runner on third tagged the base and headed home. A shot to left field loaded the bases and the next Eagle batter hit a triple to go up 11-7. Another shot to center field resulted in another run.
The next Eagle batter hit one to the shortstop who could have taken two steps and stepped on second for an out but instead tossed the ball over the second baseman’s head, allowing the Eagles to load the bases and score a run. A wild pitch resulted in another run and the end of the inning. The Eagles were ahead 13-7.
In the bottom of the inning, Highlander Carson Smith got on first. Nate Ward hit one to center field and Matt Brown loaded the bases. Cameron Riley smacked the ball to bring in two runs.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Highlanders kept the Eagles from scoring.
In the seventh inning, an Eagle batter hit a double and the next batter smacked a triple out to center field to score a run. A wild pitch allowed the Eagle on third to score. The Eagles went up 17-9 before the Highlanders got their last at-bat.
Ward walked to first and stole second and third. Brown hit one to bring in Ward. Facing two outs, the Highlanders scored a run off a wild pitch to trail 17-11. The next batter struck out to end the game.
"On the bright side, we have started to be more aggressive at the plate and are putting some runs on the board," Brown said. "Cameron Riley had a perfect night at the plate for us. We are a very young team overall and routinely start two eighth-graders. The hardest thing to stress to a team like this is to be patient and to understand that we are in the process of building a strong program."In fact, the Highlanders have one junior, six sophomores, four freshmen and four eighth-graders on the roster this season. The boys are headed to Appling Christian today for a 4 p.m. game.