Every game has been precious for Charlie Smith at the start of this baseball schedule.
The Winston Academy coach is all about getting his players actual game reps and as many as possible before his team faces that tough task of getting through district play. The Patriots played just two games in the first couple of weeks of the schedule but last week they got in a big slate.
WA came out smelling pretty good from the week as well as the Patriots won four of five games played and moved to 4-3 on the young season. It was nice for the Patriots to get back in the win column after having to go up against tough MRA and Central Hinds Academy teams.
It was a three-game slate that began the week against Indianola Academy as the Patriots played the Colonels in a double-header on Tuesday and a single game on Thursday. The finals were 12-2, 14-4 and 14-4 as WA got the bats going and pitched and played defense much better than they had against the first two opponents of the year.
After committing 13 errors in those first two losses, WA had seven in the three games played. In the first game of the double-header on Tuesday, sophomore pitcher Brylee Wall threw 5.0 strong innings giving up two hits, three walks and no earned runs while striking out seven for the run-rule win. He added two hits and three RBI at the plate to push the Patriots over the top.
To cap off the two-game set, WA pounded out 15 hits and used a nine-run first inning to blow past the Colonels in a win in six innings. The Patriots hit up and down the lineup with Jody McCorkle having a 4-for-4 day with a double and an RBI. Josh McGinnis and Hunter Gregory each had three hits and an RBI and Aiden Fancher had two hits on a double and home run in which he drove in three runs.
The Colonels got the trifecta with a third loss in the week when they had to play WA on Thursday and had another run-rule loss at 14-4 in five innings. The Patriots fell behind 1-0 but added three runs in the bottom of the first, two runs in the third and fourth innings and then blew it open with a seven-run fifth.
Camden Sanders and Wall had three hits each and freshman Hayze Gregory connected on two hits, one that was a triple, in the win. Sophomore Dalton Powell started and threw 4.2 innings surrendering zero earned runs on six hits and six strikeouts. Errors reared their ugly head accounting for all of the runs surrendered in the game.
Those errors were evident again on Friday against Oak Hill as WA dropped a 14-8 game to the Raiders. The visitors jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first two innings and expanded it to 10-2 after four. The Patriots came back to make a game of it in the sixth when they cut it to 10-8, but four runs in the seventh charged the Raiders past WA.
Hunter Gregory, Trey Williamson and Jennings Fulton all pitched and gave up seven walks and nine earned runs with four combined strikeouts. Fulton led the team with two hits and Jody McCorkle had a double and three RBI.
The Patriots got to cap the week by coming back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Manchester Academy 10-6 on Saturday. WA was trailing 5-2 in the fifth inning when it came through with an eight-run frame. They overcame another seven errors to get the win.
Jackson Joiner had three hits in the last game of the week with two doubles and McCorkle added two hits, a double and two RBI.
Wall gave up three runs in 3.0 innings and Josh McGinnis threw 4.0 innings with three strikeouts.
WA is set to play another three-game set this week as they take on talented Hartfield Academy. The Patriots will host Hartfield if the weather permits on Tuesday and go to Flowood on Thursday to take on Hartfield in a double-header beginning at 4 p.m.
