Huntland's Matthew Dickson connects on a pitch in this file photo from earlier in the season. Dickson had four hits, a walk, three RBIs and two runs scored for the Hornets Monday in their 9-3 win at Fayetteville City High School.
Huntland's Matthew Dickson connects on a pitch in this file photo from earlier in the season. Dickson had four hits, a walk, three RBIs and two runs scored for the Hornets Monday in their 9-3 win at Fayetteville City High School.
The Huntland High School Hornets beat the Fayetteville Tigers 9-3 in nine innings on the road Monday for their eighth win of the season.
The Hornets scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to overcome a late deficit and send the game into extra innings with a six-run ninth inning allowing them to pull away for a district victory.
The Hornets took an early lead in the contest with Daltyn Howell coming around to score on an RBI single from Matthew Dickson to make it a 1-0 game.
The Tigers loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the second on a triple and two walks, but Huntland pitcher Howell was able to strike out the next batter to get out of the jam.
A one-out walk and a single gave the Tigers runners at the corners in the bottom of the fourth, and their lead runner stole home while the other player was stuck in a rundown to tie the score at 1-1.
The tie would be broken in the bottom of the fifth with the Tigers pushing a pair of runs across to take a late 3-1 lead.
Both teams had bases-loaded opportunities in the sixth inning, but neither team was able to score from there as the deficit remained at 3-1 going into the top of the seventh.
Landon Kerr and Matthew Dickson led off the seventh inning with a single and a double, respectively, to instantly put the potential tying runs in scoring position with an RBI groundout from Caleb Maxwell and an RBI single from Grant Jernigan bringing both of them home to tie the score at 3-3.
The Tigers put the potential winning run in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh following a one-out walk and a two-out single, but pitcher Blaine Counts was called to the mound and struck out the first batter he faced to send the game into extra innings.
The Hornets nearly took the lead in the top of the eighth as Carson Riley, Maddux Riley and Dickson walked to load the bases with two outs, but a strikeout ended the frame with the score still tied.
The Tigers had another walk-off opportunity in the bottom half of the eighth following a leadoff double. However, Counts struck out the next three batters to leave the runner stranded.
The Hornets broke through for six runs in the top of the ninth with Carson Riley getting the scoring started with an RBI single. Howell got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to allow another run to walk home, and Dickson and Counts followed with consecutive two-run doubles to put the score at 9-3.
The Tigers weren’t able to respond offensively in the bottom of the ninth as the Hornets clinched the win by six.
Howell pitched the first 6 1-3 innings for the Hornets with 12 strikeouts, five hits, seven walks, one earned run and two unearned runs allowed.
Chandler Banks pitched to two batters in relief and had a strikeout and a walk with no runs allowed.
Counts pitched 2 1-3 shutout innings to close out the game with six strikeouts recorded and two hits allowed.
With the win, the Hornets improved to 8-8 on the season and 3-2 in district play.
They will next play Tuesday at home against Fayetteville City High School. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
