WEST POINT, Ala. – The West Point Warriors rode a four game-winning streak into their game against Winfield Friday afternoon but after a back-and-forth affair with the Pirates, West Point’s streak ended with a 9-5 loss.
Winfield struck first in their opening at-bats with one out as a single, a West Point error, and a sacrifice fly gave them an early 2-0 lead. West Point responded in their half. Andrew Putman drew a leadoff walk, then he stole second. He later scored on an RBI single by J.D. Cochran to cut it to 2-1. Colton McCoy reached on a Pirate error to put runners on first and second for Lane Stewart, who proceeded to tie the game up at two on an RBI single of his own. A ground ball by Sylar Philyaw moved both Aidan Maddox and Stewart to second and third with two outs. Jay Lamar’s two-run single broke the tie and gave the Warriors a 4-2 lead.
The Pirates got the lead right back in the top of the second on a handful of West Point errors as that gave them a 6-4 lead. Both pitching staffs took over after that as they kept the score at 6-4 for the next three and a half innings. Unfortunately for West Point, Winfield added to its lead in the top of the sixth. A one-out, two-run triple and an RBI single with two outs pushed their lead to 9-4. The Warriors looked to cut into the deficit in their half. Philyaw hit a one-out double, then Lamar followed that up with a single to center field to put runners on the corners. Back-to-back strikeouts, though, quickly put an end to the inning for the Warriors.
Kanaan Sutter retired the Pirates on just six pitches in the seventh, and the Warriors looked for some late-game heroics once again. Brody Freeman hit a one-out single to center field, then Cochran hit one of his own to left field. A fielders’ choice moved both runners to second and third with two outs, then Stewart drew a walk to load the bases. Freeman scored on a passed ball to make it a 9-5 game, then Philyaw walked to load the bases once again. But a groundout ended the game as West Point dropped their game to the Pirates 9-5.
Lamar led the way for West Point (11-9) with two hits and two RBIs. Cochran added a pair of hits and an RBI. Stewart ended up with a hit and an RBI. Freeman added a pair of hits and Philyaw chipped in with a hit of his own.
The Warriors will participate in the Gulf Shores Classic next week, and they will face off against Pinson Valley and Oak Forest on Monday.
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