BROOKHAVEN — Pike County 12-year-old American League all-star head coach Adam Price went with his gut and started Peyton Badon on the mound in the Dixie Youth baseball district tournament against Lincoln National at Lincoln Civic Center on Wednesday.
The move paid off as Pike County won 8-1 to win the district tournament and advance to the state tournament in Magee, with the first game against Greene County at 6 p.m. July 22.
Badon went all six innings, giving up one run while recording seven strikeouts for the win.
“I’ve got a big enough gut, and I trust it,” Price said. “And it worked tonight. I’m proud of them once again coming in short-handed and doing what they did. It took them a little while to get that pitcher figured out. That pitcher pitched a great game with that curve ball. He had us fooled for a couple of innings there.”
The American League took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but no more runs crossed the plate until the Lincoln Nationals scored in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 3-1.
Pike County came back with five runs in the top of the sixth to extend its lead to 8-1.
Josiah May walked and scored on a bases-loaded walk to Whit Price. Bert Passman walked and scored when the ball got away from the Lincoln County catcher. Jacob Martin reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Jack Brewer bloop single to center field. Whit Price scored on a balk, while Brewer came home on a Brice Remley single.
Coach Price said he called on his team to score after the Lincoln Nationals cut the lead to two.
“That’s the first thing we told them,” he said. “When it got to be 3-1, we told them we had to get that one run back, and they ended up getting five runs. If all I’ve got to do is ask for runs and they get them like that, then I’ll ask every inning. We’ll see if that works.”
Coach Price said left fielder Ethan Lindsey’s diving catch to open the bottom of the sixth helped set the tone, as the Lincoln Nationals were retired in order to end the game.
Pike County center fielder Sean Artigues also made a diving catch to open the bottom of the fifth.
The Lincoln Nationals had an opportunity to score in the bottom of the fourth on a bloop single and double with two outs. However, the Lincoln National runner on base hesitated to take on the double and Pike County right fielder May relayed the ball in to hold him at third.
Pike County went against Tyler Fortenberry, who is considered to be the Lincoln National best pitcher, in an 8-7 come-from-behind win. Fortenberry was ineligible to pitch Wednesday night, as he went all six innings in the 3-0 win against the Pike County National League on Tuesday.
Judson Griffin, a left hander, threw all six innings for the Lincoln Nationals on Wednesday.
“It’s a totally different type of pitcher,” Coach Price said. “Fortenberry’s a flame-thrower. This guy’s nothing but curve balls, and you’re talking one end of the spectrum from the other. Kids just had trouble hitting it at first. They kind of came around, a little more patient. He was talking a couple of guys. We were patient. That’s why we had the big run.”
Badon hit a two-run single in the top of the second inning for Pike County scoring Remley, who doubled, and Lindsey, who was hit by a pitch. May singled and scored the third run of the inning on a balk.
The American League had just nine athletes available in the district tournament this week.
Coach Price said the team is expected to have a full roster of 12 in the state tournament. Dylan Dean, who was unavailable the past two games, will be back, while Hastings Carruth, who was injured for the entire district tournament, will be recovered.
The head coach said an alternate will be the 12th player on the roster, but he could not disclose who it was at this time.
