JAY COMPTON
Middlesboro Daily News
CORBIN — Neither the Middlesboro or Tri-City All-Stars wanted their season to come to an end Wednesday and they both played like it.
Tri-City was able to push across two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a 4-3 win and advance in the 11- and 12-year-old District 4 Tournament.
The game was a pitchers’ duel for most of the evening as Tri-City’s Andrew Creech and Xavier Simmons combined to give up just one and no runs over the first five innings.
Meanwhile Middlesboro’s Isaiah Williams was also putting up zeroes until the bottom of the fourth inning. Cameron Nease led off the inning with a base hit and Chase Coker then reached on a fielder’s choice grounder. Coker stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error and later scored on Jonathan Wilder’s RBI grounder for a 1-0 lead.
Creech made it 2-0 with a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. It was a no-doubter right up the left-field alley. The Middlesboro bats finally woke up as they were down to their last chance to hit. Josh Overbay reached on an error with one out as his grounder was well-placed between third and short and neither could field it cleanly. Trenton Stephney worked a walk and the runners moved to second and third on a passed ball. With two away, Jacob Mike delivered a solid base hit back up the middle to bring in both Overbay and Stephney to tie the game at two.
Jacob Spurlock, who had doubled back in the second inning for Middlesboro’s first hit, took over on the mound in the sixth and pitched around a lead-off walk to Coker.
Middlesboro’s All-Stars managed just one hit in the top of the seventh, but it was a big one as the left-handed Williams went the other way with a high fly ball that just kept going and cleared the left-field fence.
Spurlock retired the first two Tri-City batters to start the bottom of the seventh, but the speedy Creech just barely beat out an infield single to short to keep the inning alive. Terry walked and Scotty Overbay relieved Spurlock.
Nease reached on a error to load the bases and a passed ball allowed Creech to score the tying run. Coker brought in Terry with the game-winner when his grounder into the hole at short got through.
Simmons pitched the final 5-2/3 to get the win for Tri-City. He allowed three runs on just two hits while striking out seven and walking one.
Williams struck out seven and walked two while giving up two runs on three hits over five innings for Middlesboro. Creech led the Tri-City offense with the homer and a single, he also walked and scored two runs. Nease had two singles and Coker one.
While Middlesboro is eliminated with the loss, Tri-City advances to play the winner of Wednesday’s late game between host Corbin and Pulaski County today as the tournament continues.
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Middlesboro 000 002 1 — 3 3 4
Tri-City 000 110 2 — 4 5 1
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