ADDISON, Ala. – After sweeping Covenant Christian on the road in round one, the Addison Bulldogs were back home Thursday night to host Coosa Christian in round two. This is the first playoff series Addison has hosted since 2013 but unfortunately for Bulldog fans, they were unable to knock off the conquerors and their playoff run came to an end with a pair of losses in the second round.
Coosa Christian 3 – Addison 2 (Game One)
Coosa struck first as Brody Nelson took Addison starting pitcher Kiah Lake’s first pitch to the wall for a standup double. Nelson took third on a wild pitch and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Dylan Edwards. Coosa led 1-0 at the end of the first inning.
Addison tied the score up in the bottom of the second as Stone Talley singled, stole second and then scored on a single by Carter Pratt.
Both Coosa starter, J.D. Justice, and Addison starter Kiah Lake breezed through the third inning and Lake went three up and three down in the fourth. Addison struck for the lead as 8th grade catcher Conner Lane reached on a fielder’s choice. Talley singled Lane to second and he reached third on a wild pitch. Lane then scored on an error by the Conquerors to give Addison the 2-1 lead going into the 5th.
Coosa struck back in the top of the 5th as Bryan Johnson singled and Radley Mays reached on an error. Both Johnson and Mays advanced on a wild pitch. Johnson scored to tie it at 2 on a ground out. Mays scored on another Bulldog error as Coosa took a 3-2 lead.
Neither team would score or threaten to score in the final two innings as Coosa came from behind for the 3-2 win in game 1.
Game stats
Coosa starter Justice went 7 innings for the win, giving up 3 hits and 1 earned run. He had 8 strikeouts and only 1 walk.
Brody Nelson had a double with a run scored and a RBI. Edwards had an RBI. Clete O’Bryant had a hit and a stolen base. Radley Mays scored a run and knocked a single. Keith Johnson had an RBI.
Addison starter Lake went 7 innings but took the loss. Lake gave up 4 hits, 2 earned runs with 3 strikeouts and a walk.
Talley had 2 hits with a run scored and a stolen base. Carter Pratt had a hit with an RBI.
Coosa Christian 6 – Addison 4 (Game Two)
Addison had to win game 2 to force a game 3 on Friday but Coosa jumped out quick. Edwards singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Justice then crushed a pitch to center for a double to score Edwards. Justice later scored on a Bulldog error to give the Conquerors a quick 2-0 lead after one inning.
Addison answered in the top of the 2nd with a Lane single and then Pratt sacrificed Lane over to second. Lake then grounded out to second and with aggressive baserunning by Lane he scored to cut the lead down to 2-1.
Coosa answered the Addison run with one of their own. Tucker Thompson, Addison’s starter, got the first two Conquerors out but then gave up a Keith Johnson two out single and then Blaine West destroyed a pitch for run scoring double. At the end of 2, Coosa led 3-1.
It was quite until the fourth inning when Talley led off the Bulldog 4th with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. Lane got a one out walk and then Lake slapped a single to right field scoring Talley and Lane was able to score on a Coosa error tying the game at 3.
Coosa came right back in their half of the 4th as Mays drew a one out walk and then West came through again with a two out double scoring Mays giving Coosa the 4-3 lead.
The Addison 5th had Elijah Roberts singling with one out. A passed ball allowed him to go to second. Talley then stroked a two out double scoring Roberts and again tying the game at 4.
Coosa had Justice and Ren Gladden with back-to-back two out doubles scoring Justice in the bottom of the 5th for a 5-4 lead.
Coosa then had Brian Johnson and Radley start the bottom of the 6th with singles. Then Brian scored on his brother Keith Johnson’s sacrifice fly to put the nail in the Bulldog coffin 6-4.
Coosa pitcher Brody Nelson struck out two of the final three Bulldog batters to get the win.
Game stats
Coosa starter Nelson went 7 innings with 3 earned runs, 6 hits, 1 walk and 13 big strikeouts.
Edwards had a hit and run scored. Justice had 2 doubles with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Gladden had 2 hits with a double and an RBI. Brian Johnson had a hit. Mays had a hit with 2 runs scored. Keith Johnson had 1 hit with a run scored and an RBI. West had 2 doubles and 2 RBIs.
Addison starter Thompson went 7 innings with 6 runs, 10 hits and 4 strikeouts. It has to be said that Thompson gave Addison 7 strong innings with a bum pitching shoulder. Big heart, Big effort young man.
Roberts had a hit with a run scored. Talley had 3 more hits with a double, rbi and run scored. Lane had a hit with 2 runs scored. Lake had a hit with 3 rbis.
Addison Head Coach Lee Williams,
“Tonight we played a good team and made some mistakes on offense and defense. Mostly they were mental errors and you can’t make those mistakes when playing a good team, especially in the playoffs. Even with those mistakes both those games were very winnable. We left a lot of guys on base, we just couldn’t come through with a hit in when we needed it. Coosa was able to come up with several two out hits. I was so proud of our young men. We were probably the youngest team in Addison’s history, no senior on the roster and this team achieved wonderful things this year. Not a lot was expected of us and these young men performed above and beyond this season. Can’t wait for next year, everyone is back and we get Jed (Wilkins) back from injury. He missed the entire year with an injury. Again, proud of these young men with the effort and heart they showed this year.”
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