“Offensively, after Thursday’s lack of output it was great to see the hitters go out and be aggressive at the plate,” said CHHS coach Mick Harper. “We swung the bats well even in some of our outs..”
Chapel Hill wasted little time putting runs on the board, scoring five in the bottom of the first inning. MJ Rookard led off the inning by reaching on an error by the shortstop. He stole second and the scored on an infield single by Brandon Whiteford. Mason Tritt then doubled to left and Justen Epps came in as a courtesy runner. Eric Lloyd walked to load the bases. Ryan Moffett walked, scoring the second run of the inning and Jason Rodriquez followed with single, scoring Epps and Lloyd. Roberts hit a ground ball to short that was misplayed, allowing Moffett to score the fifth run of the inning.
The second inning was a rarity of the game, with both teams going scoreless. That changed in the bottom of the third when Chapel Hill added two runs to their already big lead. Jason Phillips led off the inning with a walk. With two outs, Phillips took second on a passed ball and then Rookard tripled to center, scoring the runner. Rookard then scored on a wild pitch.
The Panthers continued to roll on the bottom of the fourth inning, going up 9-0. Tritt reached on an error by the leftfielder, advancing all the way to third. Epps came in to courtesy run. Lloyd singled to left scoring Epps. Moffett doubled down the left field line and Mark Turner walked to load the bases. Rodriquez reached on a fielder’s choice with Lloyd called out at home. Moffett then scored on an error.
Central fought back into the game in the top of the fifth inning, pushing four runners across the plate to make it a 9-4 game. Zach George led off with a walk and advanced to second on a groundout. Chaney Lambert was hit by a pitch and Spencer Lewis walked to load the bases. Blake Reese then singled to left, scoring two runs. Lewis scored on a wild pitch. Reese advanced to third on the previous wild pitch and scored on second wild pitch.
Chapel HIll wasted little time rebounding, putting three runs up in the bottom of the inning. Epps was hit by a pitch and Whiteford doubled, scoring the runner. After a Brett Roberts walk, Whiteford scored on an error. Roberts then scored on a Lloyd groundout.
For the second and only other time in the game, no runs were scored in the sixth inning. Coming up to their last at-bat, Central looked to make a comeback. Wesley Long led off with a walk. Dalton Wyble doubled to center, putting runners on first and third with no outs. After a Matt Harmon strikeout, Ryan Helton singled to center, scoring two runs. The next two Central batters struck out, ending the game.
Brandon Sattenfield picked up the win, allowing one hit over three innings. He was pulled early after the Panthers took a big lead. He struck out three and walked one. Jacob McClure, Moffett, Andrew Abernathy and Rodriquez all pitched in the game for Chapel Hill.
Whiteford and Tritt led the offense with two hits apiece. Whiteford scored twice and had two RBIs. The Panthers outhit Central 10-5.
Chapel Hill will be back to work on Wednesday when they host South Paulding at 5:55 p.m.
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