Going into Thursday’s doubleheader with Madison-Ridgeland Academy, the Parklane Pioneers were looking to build some momentum to close out the regular season after falling Tuesday in the first game of the series.
The Pioneers delivered in dramatic fashion in the early contest, winning 12-2 in six innings before dropping the nightcap 18-10.
“I think that our boys came out to play today,” Parklane head coach Robert Young said. “I think that the doubleheader got a little bit long. With our inexperience and us being young, we lost a little focus there. We have to do a better job of filling it up in the third game. I feel like our boys fought and never gave up.”
Coach Young went with Jacob Gazzo on the mound in the earlier contest. He ran into a little bit of trouble in the first inning, giving up a run, but he maintained his composure.
Gazzo began to get more comfortable in the second inning, picking up two strikeouts and keeping the Pioneers (16-12, 5-10) within striking distance.
Parklane’s offense produced a run in the fourth inning when Christian Ming scored on an MRA error. The score turned out to be a prelude of things to come the following inning.
Sam Crowe led off the fifth with a double and advanced to third on the throw. Next up was Conner Wilson, who hit into a fielder’s choice, bringing Crowe home and putting Parklane up 2-1. Gazzo then singled and touched home two batters later when Jaden Morris reached on an error. Later in the inning, Ming singled in Jake Reeves making it a 4-1 ballgame.
The two-out rally continued for the Pioneers with a two-RBI single from Bruner Rushing, followed by a bases-loaded walk to Crowe and the aforementioned Rushing scoring on a throwing error by the Patriots’ catcher.
When the dust settled in the fifth, Parklane enjoyed an 8-1 advantage.
The Patriots answered back with a run in the sixth to pull within six, however, the Pioneer offense found more success in the bottom half of the inning.
After Spencer Wilson singled in Gazzo making the score 9-1, Ming stepped up and launched a three-run home run to left for the walk-off score, sealing a 12-2 victory for Parklane.
“As a team we hit the ball well in the first game. He (Coach Young) gave a hit and run (call) and I had no choice but to swing and it was right down the middle,” said Ming who led the Pioneers with four RBIs and three runs scored to go along with two hits.
Gazzo, Conner Wilson and Jesse Smith also finished with two hits. Gazzo struck out five, going the distance for Parklane.
“It was just great, they (MRA) have a great team over there and I’m glad that I got to pitch against them,” he said. “My team really backed me up. We made the defensive plays and we really didn’t mess up. We got it done.”
In similar fashion to the early contest, the Patriots struck first in the first inning of the nightcap with a pair of runs putting the Pioneers down early.
But Parklane answered right back with a run in the first before rallying in the second. RBI singles from Rushing and Ming acted as bookends to a flurry of runs for the Pioneers which also consisted of the hosts taking advantage of MRA mistakes. After Parklane batted around the lineup, the Pioneers were retired but not before finding themselves up 9-2.
The Patriots responded, putting up four runs in the third to cut the Pioneer lead down to three.
Struggles on the mound and defensively for Parklane resulted in three additional runs for MRA in the fourth, tying the game at 9.
The Parklane bats could not find any more of that magic they had earlier. Two more runs from MRA in the fifth gave the visitors an 11-9 advantage, before they went on another run in the sixth with six additional runs.
The Pioneers ended a Patriot 15-0 scoring run in the bottom of the sixth when Jesse Smith scored on a passed ball, making the score 17-10 before MRA plated one more in the seventh.
Conner Wilson finished with three hits while Ming had three RBIs.
Young said the focus now shifts to the post season, which he sees as a chance for his ballclub to wipe the slate clean.
“We are 0-0 now and everything we did up to this point doesn’t matter,” he said. “The good thing is that we are playing a little bit better baseball now.”
