Long ball dooms Andy in district title game
Published 12:05 am Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Andalusia knocked out Luverne in the Dixie Youth Ozone West District 9 semifinals, but fell to Troy 17-1 in the championship game on Tuesday night at Johnson Park.
ANDALUSIA 11, LUVERNE 0
Monday night the Andalusia All-Stars avoided elimination with an 11-0 victory over Luverne.
Andalusia jumped out front 2-0 in the opening frame. Gage Messick doubled home a run and later scored on single from Garrett Blackston.
Messick was also impressive on the mound for Andalusia as he pitched four no-hit innings to give the young Bulldogs the win.
Andalusia added three runs in the top of the second inning to go on top 5-0. Joseph Turner, Tucker Glenn and Noah Widdon each drove in runs for Andalusia in the inning.
Messick’s big night continued when he launched a two-run blast to put Andalusia up 7-0 in the top of the third.
The final runs for Andalusia came in the top of the fourth inning. Griffin Kennedy drove in Widdon and Britt Cotton to give Andalusia an 11-0 victory and a shot at Troy in the district championship game on Tuesday night.
TROY 17, ANDALUSIA 1
In a rematch of Saturday’s tournament action, Troy used the long ball to drop Andalusia 17-1 in the Dixie Ozone District 9 championship.
Garrett Blackston got two-out single in the top of the first inning, but that was all that Andalusia managed in the opening frame.
In the bottom of the first inning, Drew Nelson quickly gave Troy the lead when he hammered the first pitch he saw over the fence in right for a 1-0 lead.
Bailey Sparrow followed with a double and then came around to score on a sacrifice.
A single, hit batter and an intentional walk then loaded up the bases for Troy.
Jayden Jordan made the most of the situation as he sent a line drive sailing over the fence in left for grand slam.
At the end of one, Troy held a 7-0 advantage.
Joseph Turner opened up the top of the second inning with a line drive single, and then came around to score on sacrifice from Tucker Glenn to cut Troy’s lead down to 7-1.
Troy drew a walk to start the bottom of the second, but Andalusia starting pitcher Britt Cotton buckled down and struck out the next batter for the first out of the inning.
Nelson then singled to put runners at the corners, and Sparrow followed with his second home run of the game to give Troy a 10-1 advantage.
Troy continued to pour on the offense and plated another run on error.
Two singles and sacrifice later, and Troy was out front 13-1.
Jordan then crushed a three-run bomb to put Troy on top 16-1. It was also his second home run of the contest.
Troy’s final run on the contest came when Landon Tyler drove in Noah Prestwood with a single to left field.
Jordan led the way for Troy going 2-for-2 with two home runs and seven RBIs.
Turner and Blackston had the only two hits for Andalusia.
With the win, Troy takes home the 2016 Dixie Youth Ozone West District 9 championship.
In five tournament games, Troy hit 25 home runs and won every game by at least 15 runs. They didn’t play one game that lasted more than three innings.