Raiders fall to Eagles in spite of Pennington’s offensive performance

Published 9:35 pm Monday, April 15, 2024

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From Staff Reports

 

DAWSON – Southland Academy’s Travis Pennington went 2 for 4 at the plate with a grand slam home run and drove in a total of six RBIs, but it was still not enough as the Raiders (SAR) fell to the Terrell Academy Eagles (TA) by the score of 11-7 on Friday at Terrell Academy.

This was the second meeting between the two clubs in as many as three days. Back on Tuesday, April 9, the Raiders defeated the Eagles 4-3.

TA jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Quindon Wright reached on an error that allowed a run to score. The Eagles tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the second on three hits and took advantage of a leadoff walk. The big hit of the inning came from Jack Hampson, who drove in two runs on an RBI single.

The Raiders finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the third, as Pennington drove in two runs on an RBI double. However, the Eagles countered in the bottom of the third with three runs on two hits and they took advantage of a hit batsman and an error.

However, the Raiders would explode for five runs in the top of the fourth, with four of them coming off a grand slam home run by Pennington. At this point, the game was tied at 7-7.

Unfortunately for SAR, they could not keep the momentum in their favor, as the Eagles responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth on four hits and they took advantage of two walks.

The Raiders tried to get themselves back into the game, but could not score a run the rest of the way and fell to the Eagles by the score of 11-7.

In addition to Pennington’s offensive explosion, Perry Usher went 3 for 3 at the plate with two runs scored and Will Godwin went 2 for 4 with an RBI.

The Raiders used four pitchers in this game. Perry Usher got the start on the mound and gave up seven runs on five hits with a walk and a strikeout in a little over two innings of work. Trey Sellers came on in relief of Usher. In a little over an inning of work, he gave up three runs on one hit, walked three batters and struck out two.

Luke Tarrer came on in relief of Sellers and in his brief appearance, he gave up a run on three hits. Jackson Webb was the final pitcher used by the Raiders. In one scoreless inning of work, he gave up one hit with no walks or strikeouts.

The loss puts the Raiders at 9-5 overall and they are tied for third place with Valwood in the GIAA Region 3-AAA standings at 4-3. As for TA, the win puts the Eagles at 15-2 overall and they are in second place in the Region 3-AAA standings at 6-2 behind region leaders Tiftarea Academy (6-0).

The Raiders will travel down to Valdosta on Tuesday to take on Valwood. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.