Northside finally broke out of a scoring slump. Minus a 6-3 win over a 9-20 Howard team, the Eagles had only plated one run in its previous four games.
Friday, in their Region 1-AAAAAA doubleheader opener at home against Coffee, they had put nine on the board.
That was the good news. The bad was the Trojans, a team that had already beaten Northside 10-0 on Tuesday, put up 14. It went on to rally and win the nightcap 8-5 for the series sweep.
The games were crucial for both. They entered this final stretch at the bottom – jockeying for fourth and fifth. The wins put the Trojans at 4-8. The losses dropped the Eagles to 1-11. As of Friday, Lee County was in first at 10-2, Houston County second with an 8-4 record and Valdosta third at 7-5.
Coffee, which out-hit Northside 19-12 in Game 1, scored two in the first inning. The Eagles tied it in the second but the Trojans scored three in the third, two in the fourth and three in the fifth to go up 10-2. Northside attempted a rally with three in the bottom of the fifth, but Coffee answered those with a trio of its own in the sixth.
The Eagles again showed heart and determination in the bottom half – plating four – but the Trojans were not to be outdone. They added their final run in the seventh.
They used four pitchers to secure the win. Max Hughes got the win with the first three innings. Northside put two on the hill – Noah Walker and Austin Mathews. They pretty much split the innings, the hits and the runs – each gave up seven.
The loss put a damper on the work of Dylan Franks in the batter’s box. He went 3-4 with three RBIs. Austin Mathew also went 2-5 and Hunter Price 2-3 with a walk and three runs scored.
Northside’s attempt to salvage a win began with a three-run second. That was in answer to one in the first by the visitor. Coffee tied it in the second and then went out front for good with two in the fifth. He added two insurance runs in the sixth and one in the seventh. The Eagles weren’t heard from again until that final frame – their final two. They were out-hit 10-5 – those spread out over five hitters.
They used three pitchers in the process, with Ross McDaniel taking the loss. He went five innings and gave up five hits and seven runs – only three earned. Five walks didn’t help, nor did Northside’s three errors.
Two took to the mound for the Trojans. Jose Rodriguez, the second of those, earned the win. He went five innings, gave up three hits and two runs.
