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Bluejays win rematch with East Prairie
Derek James
Standard Democrat
CHARLESTON - The Charleston Bluejays baseball team avenged a loss last week to East Prairie with a 6-3 victory against the Eagles on Tuesday afternoon at Hillhouse Park.
Charleston (4-3) trailed 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning before jumping out with four runs to take the lead for good.
An A.H. Marshall two-run single with two outs proved to be the game-winning hit for the Bluejays, giving East Prairie its first loss of the year.
"We were flat early, but we had a little spark late," said Charleston head coach Chris Stanfield. "I was disappointed in how we came out. Here they were, just 10 days ago they beat us on their field, and you'd think we would be chomping at the bit to get after them and we didn't. I was happy with how we finished the ballgame, but not how we started."
East Prairie (6-1) hurler Ryan Adams had a perfect game through three innings but couldn't hold on, in large part due to three costly fielding mistakes by the Eagles.
He ended up taking the loss, throwing 6 1/3 innings and allowing five runs (one earned) off three hits and two walks. He struck out five.
"He was keeping us off balance and he hit his spots," said Stanfield. "Even when we did put the ball in play we didn't hit it with any authority. Once we saw him a couple times we got some better swings in. (East Prairie is) going to make some noise in their district this year and they're going to be solid again next year."
Charleston's Rett Thompson picked up the win in relief. He threw two innings and allowed one run with two walks and one strikeout.
Marcus Dixon got the save in one inning of work, allowing a hit with a strikeout.
Starter Travis McCann threw four innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and four hits. He struck out three and walked two.
East Prairie's Ben Walters allowed one run in 2/3 of an inning in relief for the Eagles.
East Prairie was led by Adams, Walters and Lamar Holdiness with two hits each. Danny Bright, Kaleb Thurman and Taylor White each had one hit. Walters, Bright and Thurman each had an RBI.
"Coming back after 12 days off, I knew that was going to affect us a little bit," said East Prairie coach Jason Aycock. "But we don't want to use that as an excuse. You swing the bat the same way you did 12 days ago. I was actually proud of the way we played. You couldn't ask for a better pitching effort than what we got out of Ryan Adams. He got the first nine batters out. Hopefully we can bounce back and get a win on Thursday."
The Eagles will host New Madrid County Central on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Charleston's Josh Marshall and Dixon each led the way for the Bluejays with two hits. A.H. Marshall and Dustin McCann each had one hit. J. Marshall, D. McCann and Brink Naile each had one RBI.
Charleston will host NMCC on Friday at 4 p.m.
SOFTBALL
CHARLESTON - The East Prairie softball team defeated Charleston 16-1 in five innings on Tuesday.
East Prairie pitcher Lydia Thomure picked up the win in five innings of work, allowing one run off four hits and one walk while striking out three.
The Lady Eagles pounded out 19 hits in the game with Jennifer McGee leading the way, going 4-for-4 with four RBIs and two doubles.
Others were Thomure (2-4, 3 RBIs), Talia Thurman (2-4, 3 RBIs) and Brittney Woodward (2-4, 2 RBIs).
East Prairie improves to 5-2 on the season.