COVINGTON - Entering Monday, the Eastside and Alcovy High baseball squads were both tied for ninth in Region 8-AAAA play.
That is, until the Eagles (5-11 overall, 5-9 Region 8-AAAA, Sub-region B) took care of business, winning 4-0 at Tiger Field.
With the victory, Eastside avenged its previous loss earlier this season.
The two evenly matched teams played a full seven innings of baseball, as Eastside left-hander Bobby Coggins held the Tigers (4-10, 4-11) to just three hits on the day. In fact, Coggins pitched a complete game, going the distance without allowing any walks.
"I did pretty good today," Coggins said. "I found the zone early, my curve ball was working for me and my teammates made good plays in the field."
Eastside's defense committed zero errors, using great execution on routine plays, while making a couple of spectacular infield plays to keep Alcovy scoreless.
"We recorded a lot of outs on defense," said Eastside coach Michael Poor. "The way our defense played tonight was a pleasant surprise, and we got a win because of it."
But in the beginning, the bats for both teams were cold.
That is until the Eagles recorded their first hit in the top of the second inning to get things rolling.
Eastside's Kyle Durand hit a Taylor Jackson fastball deep to the gap in left center field for a double. Coggins followed by laying down a perfect bunt along the third base line for a single, moving the runner to third.
Nate Harvill hit a sacrifice fly to right to plate Durand for the Eagles' first score.
And they didn't stop there. The Eagles picked up two more runs when Keaton Anglin singled to the left center field gap. Sam Johnson followed with a bunt single before Jared Trust went shopping to the gap, scoring two more runs.
"It was Coggins," said Alcovy coach Joe Mobley regarding the difference in the outcome. "We made some errors, but he kept our bats off balance for the better part of the game."
Eastside will next host Winder-Barrow at 5:30 p.m. today. Alcovy will visit first-place Heritage at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
