By By Will Bardwell/staff writer
MArch 13, 2004
Everett Hill wasn't about to let Copiah Academy sweep Lamar School.
The Raiders catcher went 2-for-3 in the nightcap of Lamar's doubleheader against Copiah, including a key double in the six-run third inning, and the Raiders beat the Colonels 14-3 at Jim Wall Field on Friday night.
The victory followed a 16-6 Copiah win in the first game of the afternoon. The Colonels also beat Lamar 4-3 on Thursday night.
Lamar, which scored in every inning of the win, allowed one run in the top of the first but answered in its half of the inning. The Raiders took the lead in the bottom of the second when an RBI sacrifice fly by Hill scored Travis Raley. Denver Harrison came across on an infield error by Copiah, and Parker Payne put Lamar up 4-1 on an RBI single by Nathan Harrison.
The game was blown wide open in the third inning when seven Lamar batters reached base safely and six scored before Copiah tallied an out. After Josh Waters scored from third on a passed ball, Everett had a two-run double to center field. Denver Harrison drove in Hill on a single to right field, and Nathan Harrison brought Payne across on an RBI single of his own to take a 10-3 lead.
The Raiders plated four more runs in the fourth inning, including Payne's RBI sac fly that scored Denver Harrison, then shut down the Colonels in the top of the fifth to win via the 10-run rule.
Copiah 16
Lamar 6
Copiah piled on seven first-inning runs and staved off a Lamar comeback with a six-run sixth in a 10-run Colonels win.
After Copiah built an early 7-0 lead, Lamar countered with four runs of its own in the bottom of the second. Waters sprinted home from third on a Payne infield single for the Raiders' first run. The next batter, Drew Moffett, scored three runners on a shot to the outfield that was mishandled by the Colonels.
Raley scored another run for Lamar in the third inning on a passed ball, but the two-run deficit was as close as the Raiders came to catching Copiah. The Colonels added another run in the top of the fourth and put Lamar away in the sixth with six runs to go up 14-5. The Copiah offensive was capped by a two-out, two-run homer by David Hobkirk.
The Colonels got two more runs in the top of the seventh, but the 16-5 advantage came too late to call the game on the 10-run rule.
Raley scored Moffett with two outs in the bottom of the seventh on an infield single.
Despite the 10-run loss, Adams said he never lost hope for a bounce-back performance in the day's second game, which came to Lamar in an 11-run victory.