Pillow Academy used a big seventh inning to record a rare baseball victory against Madison-Ridgeland Academy.
Senior Cole Whitfield has been a member of the Pillow baseball team since he was a seventh-grader, and he had never beaten MRA. He helped change that Tuesday with two hits and a nifty run-saving play at shortstop as the Mustangs defeated the Patriots 10-4.
“I was happy for Cole and the rest of our seniors. It was obviously a big win for us,” PA coach Jud Thigpen said.
The Mustangs (15-10, 2-8) will go for their first North AAAA series victory of the season Thursday, when they host MRA (11-23, 2-8) for a doubleheader. The first game is set for 4 p.m.
Senior Triston Burden drew the start on the mound and worked 51/3 innings, giving up four runs, two earned, on six hits, two walks and one strikeout. Senior ace Garrett Brown (6-2) pitched the final 12/3 innings to pick up the win.
“Triston did just what we needed him to — give us five good innings. Garrett will still be good-to-go to start on Thursday,” Thigpen said.
MRA took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. PA went up 4-2 in the third, when the Mustangs sent eight batters to the plate. Junior Eli Burton had a three-run double.
The Patriots tied the game at 4-all in the bottom of the sixth. Hayden Barksdale had an RBI single, and the other run came on an error.
The Mustangs, however, had an answer in the seventh — a big answer. They scored six runs to take a commanding 10-4 lead with four hits, including doubles by junior Parker Bariola and senior Jacob Garrard.
Four of the Mustangs’ nine hits were doubles. Whitfield and Garrard had two hits each.
Junior Luke Fondren had a double and scored once.
“We hit the ball hard. We only had two guys who didn’t get at least one hit,” Thigpen said. “We need to carry that momentum into Thursday.”
