By By Jamie Sullivan / staff writer
March 20, 2002
The Philadelphia Tornadoes whirled their way through Southeast Lauderdale Tuesday night, taking a 5-2 decision.
With the win, Philadelphia, 8-7 overall, is in second place behind West Lauderdale in the heated Division 5-3A.
Even though the Tigers and the Tornadoes share the same division record, the Tornadoes are still on top. Southeast Lauderdale head coach Reggie Richardson said he is not giving up just yet.
The Tigers gave themselves a chance, as they had seven hits. However they could not manage to get the runners across the plate. The Tigers left eight men on base for the contest.
The Tornadoes jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead when Dustin Turner left the yard with a first inning solo home run.
The Tigers got a single by Jay Butler and a double by Larry Fairchild, but they were unable to come away with any runs.
The Tornadoes struck again in the third inning, when Shay Grady reached on an error and was later driven in by a double by Turner. Tyler Threadgill was also driven in by Turner as the Tornadoes led 3-0. The third inning could have proved dangerous for the Tigers, but Tyler Harper made a sparkling defensive play at third base to give the Tornadoes two outs.
Harper went on to record the third out of the inning as well.
In the fourth inning, the Tigers got two runs on two hits and left one man on base to cut the lead to 3-2.
In the fifth inning, Turner led off with a single and later stole second and third base. Jonathan Booker hit a frozen rope to left field to score Turner and make the score 4-2.
The Tornadoes scored one more run in the sixth inning, to pad their lead to 5-2.
The Tigers were retired in order in the seventh inning to seal the decision for Philadelphia.
Jeff Linton suffered the loss for the Tigers, while Hunter Holley went the distance for the win.
The Tornadoes were led in hitting by Hunter, as he went 3-for-4 with a single, double, and a home run.
Butler led the Tigers with a single and a double, while Harper tossed in a pair of singles for Southeast.
Philadelphia will be in action Friday when the Tornadoes host Carthage at 7 p.m. The 6-6 Tigers will also be in action Friday night, when they host Choctaw Central at 7 p.m.