Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Clay County Bulldogs trailed by four runs on two separate occasions on Friday, but battled back and took down White County 7-5 in Sparta.
The Warriors got the scoring started in the first inning, as Jack Guy doubled to drive in D.J. Paul to score the game’s first run. Paul then held Clay County scoreless on the mound in the second, allowing White County to extend the lead with three more runs in the bottom half of the frame.
The Bulldogs scratched across their first run in the third, as Grant Strong scored on a dropped third strike by the Warriors. It wouldn’t take long for White County to answer however, as a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning pushed the lead to 5-1.
The fifth inning is where Clay County managed to put some dents in the lead, as they scored via a bases-loaded walk, a hit-batter and a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit down to just 5-4.
Both teams would go down quietly in the sixth inning, setting the stage for Clay County in the seventh. And it wouldn’t take the Bulldogs long, as a single, stolen base and infield hit tied the score at 5-all.
Senior Jeff Spivey gave CCHS the lead for good with his RBI single to drive in Kolby Boles. The Bulldogs added another run to push the advantage to 7-5 heading to the bottom half of the inning.
There, Sawyer Kerr locked down the Warriors bats and closed out the win for the Bulldogs and head coach Lee Boles.
“They had the heart, and they never gave up,” Boles said. “They got off to a sluggish start, but after the third inning, they really woke up…the final score shows that. If you don’t give up, you’ve got seven innings of ball.”
Kerr provided the Bulldogs with six innings of two-run (zero earned) ball with seven strikeouts, just a typical performance for someone who Boles says has given his team plenty of good showings thus far.
“Sawyer does a great job for us both ways,” Boles said. “He came in there in a pressure situation, and he got the job done. That’s a really nice win for him.”
As far as what happened at the plate for his guys on the final three innings, Boles says his boys just seized the momentum and never let go.
“You could feel it in the dugout, and then when they got out in the field, they showed it,” Boles said. “They got on the bases and started running them correctly…those guys are doing better and better each game, so I’m looking forward to seeing how they build on this.”
