STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. — The Eastside Eagles baseball team went on the road to begin the season and dealt a 15-2 result to the Stockbridge Tigers on Tuesday.

In what was the first game for Shane Griffin as the team’s head coach, it was an all-around effort.

Levi Pickett and Jayden Bloodworth shared the pitching duties in the season opener and the two Eagles pitched lights out.

Pickett started the game for the Eagles and went three full innings and recorded six of his nine outs by way of strikeout.

After a pair of scoreless frames from both teams to start the action, Eastside broke it open in the third inning.

With the first two batters of the frame on base, a wild pitch ultimately allowed Jermaine Sanders to score the game’s first run.

In the next at-bat, senior Payton Shaw sent a 2-2 pitch up the middle for a RBI double.

RBI knocks from Allen Mills and Eli Christian made it a 5-0 lead as the Eagles jumped all over Stockbridge starter Messiah Gamble. 

Nolan Corvos delivered with a RBI single before Sanders returned to the plate and did the same to make it a 7-0 advantage.

Following a sacrifice fly from Jordan, Eastside completely flipped the game with a 9-0 lead.

Stockbridge earned one run back in the ensuing inning on an error from the infield, but the Tigers could not keep pace with an Eagles team that was not done.

Gamble started off the next frame with a strikeout, but Mills and Cooper Stokes got on base for Christian, who scored both on a two-run single.

With a 10-1 lead, Griffin turned the mound over to Bloodworth.

Bloodworth struck out the first two batters he faced before he gave up a five-pitch walk. However, Bloodworth proceeded to pick off the runners to still face the minimum.

Following a leadoff walk from Sanders, an error from the Stockbridge infield later allowed the runners to score.

The miscues continued to pile on for Stockbridge as three more Eastside base runners scored on three different wild pitches.

With their backs against the wall, the Tigers had one more chance to trim Eastside’s 15-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth.

The first two batters reached and Stockbridge later scored one on an RBI single from Jeremiah McGeachy.

However, Bloodworth struck out the next batter and picked off another base runner to secure the final out in the 15-2 win.

By game’s end, Pickett and Bloodworth only allowed four hits and one earned run in five innings of work. Together, the two combined to strike out nine batters.

At the plate, many Eagles got into the mix as the team totaled 11 hits and eight walks.

Jordan, Mills and Christian all finished with multi-hit games.

What’s Next

Eastside will play the first of two games against the Rockdale County Bulldogs on Thursday, Feb. 12.