COVINGTON, Ga. — Monday, March 21 featured a crosstown matchup between Peachtree Academy and Covington Academy at Georgia State Newton Campus, which serves as the Panthers’ home field. Peachtree Academy ran away from Covington Academy in a 10-0 shutout win that ended after five innings.
A strong third inning by the Panthers put the game out of reach.
Leading 2-0 after two innings, Peachtree Academy batted seven runs across home plate to give itself a comfortable 9-0 advantage.
It all started with an RBI single by Ethan Caldwell who brought one run home. Then, on the ensuing play, a Covington Academy error allowed another runner to score.
Henry Rumble laid down a sacrifice bunt on the next at-bat that brought home another run giving Peachtree Academy a 5-0 lead.
During AJ Lingerfelt’s at-bat, a wild pitch went by the catcher allowing one more run to score. Then, Dillon Whitfield kept the party going with an RBI single giving the Panthers a 7-0 lead.
Two more runs scored in the third inning but, most notably, the Panthers batted around in the inning bringing 12 players to the plate.
Gino Brown for the Bulldogs registered the first two outs of the third inning while Charlie Whitlock came in relief to record the final out to ultimately end the inning.
Panthers head coach Kevin Boeckman highlighted his team’s approach to each at-bat as a deciding factor in a strong, offensive inning.
“We’re trying to make sure we’re swinging at good pitches no matter what,” Boeckman said. “Look for something we can really drive.”
Defense and pitching helped with the winning effort, too.
The first nine batters for Covington Academy were retired by Peachtree Academy, not allowing a baserunner until the top of the fourth inning.
All in all, it was a complete performance by the Panthers to earn the win.
Next up for Peachtree Academy will be a home matchup with Lafayette Christian on April 11.
For Boeckman, March 21’s win served as a great warmup for a continued region schedule moving forward.
“We’ve played some quality teams and have lost focus at times,” Boeckman said. “Tonight, the game plan was let’s be focused the whole game and let’s finish it. That’s been our big message over the last couple of days is to stay focused the whole time.”
