The current group of Eastside senior baseball players had never lost a varsity game to the Alcovy Tigers during their time in high school, that is, until Friday night.
Alcovy walked with a 10-3 victory over the Eagles, evening its record to 1-1 while Eastside falls to 0-2 overall.
The night started off well enough for the Eagles, as Alcovy pitcher Tristen Payne struggled to find the strike zone and loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a hit batsman. Eastside capitalized on the situation with a sac-fly from Nick Womack and a base hit by Hank Steele, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Sophomore Gray Ritchey was assigned the starting pitching duties for the Eagles, and the Tigers wasted no time generating some offense in their half of the inning. A leadoff walk was followed by a Brock Carter double down the line befire another double was blistered to the gap by Dalton Reagin, tying the game at 2-2.
Nathan Purcell grounded out, but garnered an RBI by driving in Reagin in the process. An Eastside error and another walk allowed a pair of base runners, adding to the Eagle’s pain as both scored before the inning came to a close with the Tigers on top 5-2.
Purcell assumed the pitching duties for Alcovy in the third inning and was very effective in keeping the Eagles' bats silent.
Eastside was unable to muster much offense, but did scratch out a run when Nick Womack reached base after being hit by a pitch. Womack eventually crossed the plate after a wild pitch.
In the fourth inning, a lone single by Hunter Ballard ended up being the final hit and base runner for the Eagles.
The Eagles replaced Ritchey on the mound in the fourth inning, as freshman Austin Holloway came on in relief. The Alcovy offense continued to have a good night with a leadoff single and another double by Carter, along with a couple of free passes and a single by Purcell. By the end of the frame, the Tigers' lead increased to 9-3.
Holloway gave way to Travis Smith pitching in the fifth inning, as Alcovy tacked on another run courtesy of a single by
Carter (3-for-4 on the night) and a sac-fly from Purcell after yet another Eagle error. Hank Steele came in to close the game, pitching a scoreless sixth inning, striking out the two final Tigers.
