By By Adam Daigle/The Natchez Democrat
April 27, 2002
NATCHEZ With both Cathedral and Union throwing their aces, both were hoping for that one key hit to be the difference in the end.
Instead, the difference did not even go down as an official at-bat.
Union right-hander Jody Blount walked Clay Hammons with the bases loaded to bring home the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to give the Green Wave (16-9) a 3-2 win in the opening game of the best-of-three playoff series Friday night.
Blount allowed seven hits, while Cathedral left-hander Chris Norris allowed just four.
The move backfired for the Yellow Jackets, who elected to put cleanup hitter Bart Lane on to load the bases with two outs.
Blount, a hard-thrower who earlier that inning walked Cathedral two-hole hitter Wyler Murray on four pitches, did the same to Hammons. The walk brought home Jeremy Davis to give the Green Wave the win.
The last inning was rather different from his first six innings as the Green Wave scratched for a run in the fourth and fifth innings. Using three pitches, Blount struck out five in his first four innings of work.
Norris singled home Murray in the fourth for a 1-0 Cathedral lead, and Murray singled home Bert Goldman in the fifth for a 2-0 lead.
On the mound for Cathedral, Norris was sharp outside of a two-run six inning the Yellow Jackets rung up with the help of an error. There the Jackets loaded the bases with no outs and top hitter Blount at the plate, and his flyout to center allowed Jeremy Hamm to scored and cut the lead to 2-1.
Zach Robinson then flied out to right field to score Jacob Causey and tie the game. Norris who earlier retired 13 straight batters Eric Graham on a groundout to end the game.
The sixth inning was the only time the Yellow Jackets rallied. In the first inning an infield single with two outs moved Blount to second, but Graham flied out to end the inning.
Norris retired 12 straight after that until Hamm led off the sixth with a single.