Boyd-Buchanan senior pitcher Skyler Anderson got the start against Meigs County on Senior Night and came up with the win to push the Bucs' record to 21-9 (8-0). Anderson also contributed at the plate with an RBI fielder's choice and two walks. Boyd tamed the Tigers by a 12-1 score.
photo by Dennis Norwood
It was Senior Day at Boyd-Buchanan on Tuesday afternoon, but a sophomore stole the spotlight.
Colby Morgan, serving as the designated hitter from the third spot in the lineup, crushed a 3-1 pitch from Tyler Starling with two outs in the fifth inning for a grand slam that made winners out of his teammates in a 12-1 victory.
It was a non-district game, but a contest matching two state-ranked opponents. Boyd-Buchanan improves to 21-9 with the win while Meigs County is now 20-6.
"I just wanted to get on top of the ball as I had missed one earlier, but there wasn't a doubt in my mind it was gone once I hit it," Morgan said after finishing his infield raking duties following the game.
"We got the win, so I wasn't worried about how I played," he said, noting that his game-winning hit was his third homer of the season and first grand slam.
But on a day when six Buccaneer seniors were recognized and honored, there were lots of smiles for those wearing Blue. All six seniors started and all six contributed in a positive way to the win. They included Skyler Anderson, Josh Antwine, Seth Caudle, Austin Jackson, Hunter Payne and John Sewell.
Anderson was the starter and winning pitcher as he hurled four innings and allowed the one run on two hits while striking out two. He had an RBI fielders choice in the second while walking in each of his last two at-bats.
Antwine started at third base and relieved Anderson as he allowed one hit and had two strikeouts in his one inning on the mound. He had a groundout to third in the second that drove in the Bucs' second run while a double down the line in right in the fourth drove in two teammates and extended the lead to 6-1.
Caudle played center and finished the day with two doubles and one run driven in.
Jackson, known more for his football ability than his talent on the baseball field, crushed the first pitch of the fifth and ended up with a double after his shot missed clearing the fence in left by about a foot. He scored a minute later on Caudle's second double to the gap in right-center.
Payne was the catcher and had a pair of singles in his first two at-bats. He also gunned down Jay Odum at second to end the first inning. Odum had singled to drive in Dustin Kennedy with Meigs' only run and he was retired trying to stretch it into a double on a perfect throw by Payne.
Sewell didn't have a hit, but he reached on a fielder's choice and later got hit by a pitch and was on base when Morgan cleared the bases to end the game.
"He hit it well as he got all of it, but he's a good hitter and in the third spot for a reason," Boyd-Buchanan coach Josh Rider said Morgan following the game.
"We needed a win like this as we haven't been scoring many runs lately, but it was good to see our bats come alive. Meigs County has a very good baseball team. We just happened to get them on a bad day," he added.
Meigs County coach Justin Jennings has seen better days and so has his team.
"We certainly didn't play our best today. It was nice to get a lead in the first, but they came right back to take the lead and we sort of hung our heads after that and just went through the motions," he expressed before heading to the parking lot.
"I could just tell from the beginning that we weren't where we needed to be mentally, but we'll just have to get this thing turned around and we don't have much time as we host CSAS tomorrow. Kennedy has been our number-one pitcher all year, but today was certainly not his best outing. And we didn't do anything to help him out," Jennings concluded.
Dustin Kennedy had the only double for Meigs and he scored their only run. Odum's single in the first drove in the only run whihle Starling had a one-out single in the fifth.
Payne and Caudle both had two hits for the Bucs while Cade Evans, Antwine, Morgan and Jackson all finished with one apiece.
MEIGS COUNTY 100 00 -- 1 3 2
BOYD-BUCHANAN 220 26 -- 12 8 0
J. Kennedy, Starling (5) and Odum; Anderson, Antwine (5) and Payne.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)
Boyd-Buchanan's Devin Spiegelhalter makes it safely back to first past the tag of Meigs County's J.T. Goforth..
photo by Dennis Norwood