Bulldogs down Ashford
Published 12:03 am Friday, March 30, 2012
Andalusia scored four runs in the sixth and held on late to beat Ashford 9-8 Thursday night at Bulldogs Stadium.
The Bulldogs were ahead 9-4 going into the top of the seventh, when the Yellow Jackets made a close game of it, scoring four runs on three hits.
Throughout the contest, Quinton Maddox carried Andalusia on the mound, pitching all the way until the last out.
Maddox had five strikeouts and allowed eight runs on 13 hits and one walk in 6.2 innings to take the win.
Ashford scored its four runs in the seventh and had the tying run on second, but Bulldogs coach Jonathan Rasberry pulled Maddox out and Grayson Campbell came in to get the save.
Campbell struck out Ashford’s Alex Avery swinging on a 1-2 count to end the game.
“Grayson came in and did a good job for us,” Rasberry said. “He did what he needed to do to get the save. That’s what team baseball’s all about.
“We got a lot of people involved tonight,” he said. “I thought we executed real well at the plate.”
Andalusia tallied 14 hits in its win over the Yellow Jackets.
In the sixth inning, the Bulldogs went ahead 8-4 when Campbell scored on a passed ball and Jud Rogers got a key two-run double to score courtesy runner Hunter Earnest and Daniel Henderon, who got a single.
Rogers scored the game-winning and much-needed run on a passed ball.
The Bulldogs (13-6) gained momentum in the third inning, scoring three runs to take a 5-3 lead.
Maddox led the third inning with a walk, Rogers singled and Michael McCalman walked to load the bases.
Tyler Rains then hit an RBI single to score Maddox’s courtesy runner and then Ross Graham bunted in Rogers on a squeeze play to put Andalusia ahead 4-3. McCalman later came in on Zach Ward’s RBI single.
“That was a big inning,” Rasberry said about the third. “That gave us an opportunity to go up 5-3. It gave us a little cushion.
“We sat on it a little too longer than I wanted to,” he said. “I thought we played a good game, and they (Ashford) played a good game.”
Rogers went 3-for-4 with two singles, a double and two RBIs to lead Andalusia. Ward, Henderson and Raines went 2-for-4 and had one RBI each. Additionally, Graham went 1-for-4 with one RBI.
Andalusia scored two runs in the first inning to take an early 2-0 lead.
Ward scored on a sac fly by Henderson, and Earnest scored on a passed ball.
Ashford added three runs on RBIs from Avery, Tyler Jones and Tyler Bowden.
Aaron Daugherty led the Yellow Jackets and went 3-for-4 with one RBI; Bowden, Parker Moman, Landon Jones and Josh Jones had two hits each.
Bowden allowed five earned runs and struck out two in the loss.
Andalusia will visit Ashford today in a doubleheader to complete the Class 4A, Area 3 series with the Yellow Jackets. First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m.