Opp sweeps Miller; heads to third round of playoffs

Published 12:08 am Saturday, April 26, 2014

Opp knocked off T.R. Miller with a two-game sweep on the road in Brewton Friday night.

Opp knocked off T.R. Miller with a two-game sweep on the road in Brewton Friday night.

The Opp Bobcats earned a sweep of the T.R. Miller Tigers Friday night in Brewton in the class 3A second round of the state baseball playoffs to continue their journey on for a quest of the 3A crown.

Opp rallied in game one two defeat the Tigers 11-8 and earned a 6-2 win in game two. The wins for the Bobcats moved them to 25-8 overall while T.R. Miller ended their season with a 22-11 record.

Opp will now get the winner of Sipsey Valley and Gordo after the two teams split Friday night.

Game 1

Opp rallied from a 7-2 deficit in the third inning and an 8-7 in the sixth inning to defeat the Tigers in game one.

Down by five in the third, Opp scored five runs in the inning to tie the game. After the Tigers of TRM took an 8-7 lead in the bottom of fifth on a Bobcat error, Opp played four of their own in the top of the sixth on two TRM errors to grab an 11-8 lead. The three-run lead would stand for Opp as they took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

Dakota King had the big hit in the sixth inning to give Opp their 11-8 lead after T.R. Miller’s left fielder misplayed the ball.
Opp had only four hits in the win, while TRM made four errors in the loss.

King got the win on the mound in relief. King went the final two innings and allowed no hits, no runs, walked none and struck out three.

Landon Hughes got the start while Britt Buckakew also pitched in the win.

Zane Hollinghead led Opp with two singles, while King had a single and one RBI. Jacob Johnson had one RBI, while Brady Vidich had a single and one RBI.

For TRM, Drew Williamson took the loss on the mound. Kyle Davis started the game and went 2 2/3 innings. Ryann Gray pitched 2 1/3 in relief of Davis.

Davis allowed one hit, seven runs, three earned, walked seven, struck out three and hit one.

Gray allowed one hit, no runs, walked two and struck out one.

Williamson allowed two hits, four runs, one earned, walked and struck out one while hitting two.

Davis had a double at the plate while Tripp Floyd had two singles and Zac Griffin had one.

Tim McDonald had a three-RBI triple in the second inning. TRM scored three runs in the second to take a 7-2 lead.

Jo Jo Booker and Caden Lodge both had a single, with Lodge having one RBI.

TRM led Opp 4-1 after the first inning and 7-2 after two. Opp tied the game up at 7-all in the third inning with five runs on two hits and one TRM error.

TRM added one in the fifth inning, but Opp’s four-run sixth propelled them to the win.

Game 2

In a pitcher’s duel through five innings, that saw the game tied at 1-1, Opp scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth and held T.R. Miller to a late run in the seventh inning to get a 6-2 win and a sweep. The runs came on three hits and two T.R. Miller errors.

The two teams were scoreless after two innings before both plated one run each in the third inning.

Ethan Davis earned the win on the mound for Opp as he went six innings and allowed six hits, one earned run, walked two, hit one and struck out five.

Dakota King earned his second save of the night as he went 1/3 of an inning in relief of Britt Buckelew.

King struck out the lone batter he faced while Buckelew went 2/3 of an inning and allowed two hits, one run, and hit two.

Colt Harrell, Davis, Eli Jonson, Walker Messer, King, Jacob Johnson, and Holt Hall all had one hit each while Johnson had one RBI.

For T.R.  Miller, Tripp Floyd took the loss on the mound as he went 5 1/3 innings and allowed five hits, five runs, one earned, walked and struck out six while hitting one.

Tim McDonald went the final 2/3 of an inning and allowed two hits and one run.

Opp had only three hits going into the sixth inning.

Drew Williamson led T.R. Miller with three singles while Hunter Brittain had a single and a double.

Zac Griffin had a single and one RBI while McDonald had two singles.

Opp coach Michael Cassaday said pitching made the difference in Friday’s games.

“Our focus and our job at the plate was we thought we had good enough pitching,” Cassaday said. “We thought, at the plate, we had to have good at-bats and get their pitch counts up. We did a pretty good job of that getting about five or six pitches a batter. I am just proud of our players. We got some two-out hits and Dakota King came in their big for us in the first game and got that back hit and scored all those runs. He then came in there and pitched and got two saves. I am just proud of my coaches and proud of my team.”