New Brockton rallies past Straughn

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Brock Hammett strolls into third.

Brock Hammett strolls into third.

After starting out with a 1-0 lead, the Straughn Tigers saw the New Brockton Gamecocks rally to a 8-2 victory Tuesday night at the Butch Youmans Memorial Tournament in Opp.

Brock Hammett got things started for the Tigers with a one-out single in the bottom of the first inning.

Hammett quickly stole second base with ease and then came around to score when Shane Jones blasted a double into the power alley in left to give Straughn a 1-0 lead.

On the mound for the Tigers, Barrett Bush picked up two strikeouts in the top of the second inning.

Mitch Schultz came up to start the bottom of the second inning and ripped a single to put the Tigers in business.

Two strikeouts followed and it appeared that Schultz’s lead-off single may go to waste for the Tigers.

That wouldn’t be the case, as Trystian Barber singled and then Bush drew a walk to load up the bases.

Hammett followed with a blistering shot to second that the Gamecocks’ second baseman had trouble handling. The result of the play was an error that allowed Schultz to score to put Straughn on top 2-0.

Bush started the top of third with a quick ground ball out, but a hit batter followed by a steal and hit pushed across the Gamecocks’ first run of the game.

In the bottom of the third, Jones drew a walk to start the inning and then Matt Worley followed with a sacrifice bunt to move Jones into scoring position at second.

Jones later moved up to third, but a nice defensive play by the Gamecocks’ shortstop put and end to Straughn’s third inning threat.

Things began to come unraveled for the Tigers in the top of the fourth inning.

The Gamecocks’ began to tattoo the ball in all directions and took advantage of a couple of errors to take a 5-2 lead over the Tigers heading into the bottom of the fourth.

Barber picked up a single with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, but was thrown out attempting to steal second.

Bush and Hammett each followed with singles, but another strong play by the Gamecocks’ shortstop put and end to the inning.

On the mound, Barber kept the score at 5-2 after escaping a jam in the top of the fifth inning.

Worley picked up a one-out single to start the bottom of the fifth, but a double-play ball off the bat Schultz put a stop to the Tiger threat.

Straughn continued to battle, but every time the Tigers seemed to get a breath of life, the Gamecocks managed to come up with a big play to stop it.

The Gamecocks added three more runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull out to an 8-2 lead.

Straughn got a walk to start the bottom of the seventh, but the Gamecocks got a double play off a fly ball to right field to end the game and give them an 8-2 win.