THS eliminated from 5A playoffs
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, May 6, 2003
The Thompson Warriors were eliminated from the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) Class 5A baseball playoffs with a best-of-three series loss to Sylacauga Friday and Sunday at THS.
The Warriors lost a 16-13 slugfest in game No. 2 of the series Sunday, committing three errors in the sixth inning and allowing three runs to break a 13-13 tie.
Hunter Hammonds (1-3) was tagged with the loss, pitching 2 1/3 innings and allowing five hits.
With the score knotted at 13-13 in the top of the sixth Sylacauga scored three unearned runs to claim the victory.
&uot;We hit the ball really well, and if we had pitched the way we pitched all year, we could have won that second game on Sunday,&uot; THS head coach Pat Hamrick said following the loss. &uot;We had 10 errors in two games and it’s hard to win like that. We’re disappointed in the way the season ended, but we had a good run. If we could have played those two games like we have played all year and just seen what would happen, we might be a little more satisfied.&uot;
The Warriors will lose seven to graduation &045; six starters and Kenny Mahone who cam off the bench to run bases all season for Hamrick.
Robert Powell (7-2) got the start in game No. 2, allowing six walks and striking out five batters.
&uot;He had one bad outing on the year,&uot; Hamrick said, &uot;and it just happened to come at a bad time for us. He didn’t allow more than five runs in any game he pitched all season. Unfortunately his bad game was in the playoffs.&uot;
Freddie Brackin went 2-for-4 at the plate with 2 RBI and Malachi Gandy was 2-for-3 on the day. Franklin went 3-for-5 with 5 RBI, including a three-run home run and a solo home run.
Hunter Hammonds was 2-for-4 at the plate with 4 RBI, including a three-run home run and a solo home run. That solo home run tied the game at 13-13 in the top of the sixth inning.
Aaron Barranco went 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI.
In the first game Friday, Brackin was 1-for-4 with a double and Brett Rushing was 1-for-3 with a double. Gavin McGuire went 2-for-3 at the plate with a single, a double and an RBI.
Powell finished the day 1-for-2 at the plate and Nick Seagle had an RBI for the Warriors