Friday, April 9, 2004
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Friday, April 9, 2004 |
| Late comeback Panthers rally in 7th to hand Indians 1st loss By MICHAEL BOYLAN Going into Wednesday’s region battle with the Starr’s Mill Panthers, the East Coweta Indians were 14-0 and ranked number one. While Starr’s Mill was hopeful they could hang with the Indians, on paper it didn’t look good. Games aren’t played on paper, though, and Starr’s Mill played quite possibly the best game they ever played in what coach Brent Moseley called “the biggest win in the team’s history.” Starr’s Mill defeated East Coweta 4-3 and earned a region record of 5-2. Nick Terry took the mound for the Panthers and faced East Coweta’s Kyle Bedrosian. Both pitched two scoreless innings to start the game. Terry got two strikeouts in the first on his way to four strikeouts overall. In the top of the third inning, Eric Teasley led off with a double for the Indians and was driven home by Tyler Brown. Starr’s Mill answered in the bottom of the inning when Kyle McCreary hit a single and was driven home by a double from Andy Myers. Terry controlled the fourth, ending it with a strikeout to Taylor Walker. Proving what a strange game baseball is, Starr’s Mill took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning without getting a hit. Andy Kragor walked to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a wild pitch and then advanced to third when the East Coweta catcher dropped a strikeout pitch. Kragor then crossed the plate after another wild pitch. Starr’s Mill held on to its 2-1 lead into the seventh inning. East Coweta put two men on and had two outs against them when Brad Emaus came to the plate. He had gone 0-3 previously that day and it appeared he would go 0-4 after hitting a ball to the Starr’s Mill shortstop. The throw to first couldn’t be handled, however, and both Indian runners scored. The air left the stadium and after the game Coach Moseley admitted, “After the top of the seventh, I was down. They picked me up, though, and they did it themselves.” Carter Scurry opened the bottom of the seventh with a single and Jesse Barfield struck out. Phillip Shell walked and Andrew Robinson struck out. It all came down to McCreary, who answered the call by hitting a seeing eye double that rode the first base line and remained fair. McCreary ended up on second base and Scurry and Shell ended up crossing home plate. The game was over and Starr’s Mill had won 4-3. Many in the large crowd stated after the game that it was one of the best baseball games they had ever seen. The two teams will meet again April 30 at East Coweta at 7 p.m. and one could only hope for another game like this. For now, the two teams get a brief taste of spring break before taking to the diamond again. Starr’s Mill will travel to Lovejoy Monday, while East Coweta will travel to McIntosh next Wednesday. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
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