PULASKI, Tenn. – The Martin Methodist Baseball team used a six-run second inning to defeat Brewton-Parker (Ga.) in a 9-6 ballgame for its first conference win of the season Friday night at the East Campus Baseball Facility.
The RedHawks (10-12, 1-6 SSAC) had gotten off to a slow start in conference play, but wasted little time in establishing control Friday as they clubbed out five of their 16 hits in the bottom of the second and take a 6-1 advantage.
Martin Methodist threatened to blow the game open even further, but the Barons (4-32, 1-9 SSAC) added runs in the fourth and fifth innings to pull within striking distance.
The RedHawks added three runs over the next two frames to push the lead to 9-3, but the Barons struck for two more in the seventh and one in the ninth to fall by just the three-run deficit.
Six RedHawks had multi-hit performances on the day, highlighted by the top of the lineup as leadoff man Austin Long (3-for-5), No. 2 hitter Collin Jolly (2-for-5) and No. 3 slugger Pat Lecroy (2-for-3) accounted for nearly half of the 16 hits on the day.
Jolly was arguably the star for the RedHawk lineup as his two-run single in the second helped the RedHawks secure a stranglehold on the game. His one-run double in the bottom of the sixth helped the RedHawks maintain their control.
Long, meanwhile, floured in his debut as the RedHawk leadoff man. Long led off the sixth with a triple to deep left that very nearly left the yard for what would have been the senior's first career home run.
Jake Shadix (3-2) lasted 6.2 innings and allowed five runs – four earned – for his third victory of the season. The senior nearly got out of a jam in the top of the seventh, but was pulled with two outs after he surrendered two runs in favor of Austin Dyer.
Dyer lasted until the final out of the ballgame before he gave way to David Collins, who gave up two hits but struck out Levi O'Steen to end the contest in his lone batter faced.
Ty Kelly (0-2) allowed 10 hits and six runs in his four innings of work for the Barons.
The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday afternoon to close out the series. First pitch in Saturday's opening game is set for Noon at the East Campus Baseball Facility.
