After closing district play with three losses to Region 6-4A Lawrence County, the North Pike baseball team ended the regular season on a winning note with a 5-1 home victory against Wesson Monday night.
The Jaguars (21-4, 12-3) were the No. 2 team in their district and open the playoffs with a three-game series against Northeast Jones.
Game 1 is at North Pike at 6 p.m. Friday and Game 2 is at Northeast Jones at 6 p.m. Saturday.
North Pike used all five pitchers against Wesson Monday to help prepare for the playoffs.
“We needed to keep playing,” Jaguars head coach George Lott said. “We had a rough week last week. All of our pitchers did well. We went into this game knowing every one of them were going to throw. We scored some runs. We left some people on bases. We’re still not where we need to be or where we were three weeks ago with the days. We’ve got a couple of days to work on it.”
The Jaguars put together a three-run bottom of the sixth to extend their lead to 5-1.
Jonah Bankston opened the inning with a walk, Dalton Reed hit an infield single and Jacob Gill walked to load the bases with no outs.
Bankston scored on a Matthew Phillips fielder’s choice, Reed scored on a Brantley Hughes opposite field single to left and Gill stole home plate.
The Cobras’ lone run was unearned in the top of the fourth to cut the Jaguars’ lead to 2-1.
Gill and Hughes walked the bases loaded, but North Pike had a chance to get out of the inning without giving up any runs.
Wesson’s batter hit a ground ball to shortstop Ben Coney, who relayed the ball to first baseman Cade Killingsworth. Killingsworth dropped the ball for North Pike’s lone error and a run scored on the play.
North Pike scored one run in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead.
Gill singled, went to second base on a Phillips sacrifice bunt and scored on a Killingsworth one-run single.
North Pike had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the first. Coney walked, but came out for courtesy runner Trent Coleman, Killingsworth was on base after his single and Tyler Alexander walked.
Parker Phillips hit into a fielder’s choice and Alexander was called out at second base to end the inning.
A picture after the game presented by Alexander’s mom, Becky, showed he beat the throw and was incorrectly called out at second.
Connor Travis singled in the bottom of the second and scored on a Matthew Phillips two-out single.
Wesson had a chance to score in the first when the game’s leadoff hitter attempted to extend a double into a triple. Alexander relayed the ball in from left field, Bankston tagged the runner out and the Cobras did not score in the inning.
Coney, who is the No. 1 pitcher in the rotation, threw the first two innings for North Pike recording two strikeouts in a win. Gill went 11⁄3 innings giving up two walks and one unearned run while recording two strikeouts. Hughes went 12⁄3 innings giving up one walk while recording two strikeouts. Reed went one inning recording to strikeouts. Killingsworth struck out the side in the final inning for the save.
Lott said using all pitchers will help prepare the Jaguars for Northeast Jones.
“That’s the thing,” he said. “All of them are going to throw in the bullpen this week. It’s better to get it in live. Every one of them came in and did their job.”
Gill was 1 for 3 with two runs and one walk, Matthew Phillips was 1 for 3 with two RBIs, Hughes was 2 for 3 with one RBI and one walk, Coney was 1 for 2 with two walks and one double, Killingsworth was 1 for 4 with one RBI, Travis was 1 for 2 with one run and Reed was 1 for 1 with one run.
