Straughn declares road rivalry win against Opp

Straughn was able to take an early five-run advantage and was able to make it 7-2 win in baseball against Opp the previous Tuesday February. 28.

The Tigers have pushed their record to 3-1. Meanwhile, the Bobcats were able to improve to 1-5 on the season.

The teams did not score in the first inning, as Ryan Cobb tallied two strikeouts in the bottom of the inning. Emory Melvin started the the second by scoring a double. Emory Melvin scored the first hit on the RBI strike of Matt Ashberry. Layne Grantham singled through the left side before driving home Clark Gay. Kaden Wiggins scored Taylor Sikes with a single to the right. Eli Guilford knocked a two-run double while Saxby Radford as well as Wiggins hit and gave SHS the lead of 5-0. Landon Langley reached on a third strike that was dropped while Grady Patterson walked with two outs. Cobb was able to keep OHS to a minimum after Ethan Morgan grounded out to second.

Ashberry and Gay extended the lead to 7-0 when they hit back-to back RBI two-hits, both in the home third. Cobb hit the side with 16 pitches in the second half of home. Guilford was able to hit a double with two outs in the upper part of the fourth before Nelson Hall rallied back and hit Zayd Rogers. John Helms and Cash Harrell both hit by pitch however Cobb held off the shutout by hitting an out-of-the-park and two strikeouts. Each team had two runners on the field in the fifth, and the score was 7-0.

Rogers singled for two runs in the sixth inning to Straughn the sixth, and Radford was able to score on an error. Nolan Brown thwarted the threat by striking out before Opp hit the scoreboard with 2 runs at the end of the of the. Harrell began the game with a single to the center, and then crossed the plate thanks to an RBI double from Langley. Riley Day then singled and was able to set up the sacrifice fly of Patterson. Morgan was walking after which Jase Stanley loaded the bases with a bunt double. Gay ended the rally off with two strikeouts, resulting in a 7-2 score.

Ashberry scored two runs on two RBIs and scored two runs. Guilford, Sikes, and Grantham all hit 4-for-4 as the Tigers. Cobb won the game with five complete innings and did not let a batter hit. The junior threw out 11 batters and was walked twice. Colby Ballard finished 1-for-2 with two runs and a double scored by the Bobcats. Porter Nelson was 1-for-4 with two doubles, RBI and a the run scored. Hall allowed five earned runs over four innings before striking out five.

SHS will play again on on Tuesday, March 7 with a home game with Monroe County at 5 p.m. OHS travels to Troy for the Terry Sikes Memorial Tournament. SHS will play Marbury on March 8 starting at 4:15 p.m.

The story Straughn says he is a road rival victory over Opp was first published in The Andalusia Star-News.