By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
A huge fourth inning propelled the Gwatney Chevrolet Jr. Legion team to a 10-5 win over Sylvan Hills on Thursday night at Burns Park.
Tom Sanders went 3 of 3 and drove in four runs for Gwatney.
The Chevy boys led off with six straight runs in the top of the fourth inning against the bench-depleted Optimist Bruins, and threatened to strike again later in the fifth before a fielder’s choice play at second base by SH shortstop Matt Russell prevented any further runs.
The Bruins made a charge in the final two frames, but made up only three runs of the 10-2 run deficit that resulted from Gwatney’s huge fourth inning.
The fourth started with a strikeout by Bruins starting pitcher Cameron Graves, followed by a walk for GC second baseman Kenny Cummings, who advanced on a follow-up single by Hayden Simpson. Another walk for Matt McAnally loaded the bases for Gwatney before Tommy Sanders drove in two runners with a hard single to right field.
Another walk that sent Jeffery Tillman prompted a SH pitching change, as Graves swapped places with Russell at shortstop.
Russell walked his first batter, which loaded the bases again for Gwatney. That put Orlando Roberts up to bat for the Chevy boys, and he benefited from the third straight walk handed out by the Bruins, scoring the automatic RBI with the force-walk at the plate for Sanders.
That gave Gwatney an 8-2 lead, and Patrick Castleberry’s double down the first base line brought in two more.
The game was closer in the early going. Cummings walked to lead off the game for Gwatney, eventually coming in on a single by cleanup hitter Sanders. Gwatney loaded the bases after that, but a pop-up to center ended its chances of adding to the early 1-0 lead.
The Bruins got their only lead of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Leadoff batters Cain Cormeir and Russell both reached on singles.
Three-hole hitter Cody Cormeir then drove in his brother with a fielder’s-choice play to shortstop, and Russell made it in on a fielding error to put Sylvan Hills up 2-1 after one.
After a routine second inning for both clubs, the Chevy boys took the lead back in the top of the third. Singles by McAnally and Sanders to start off the frame led to runs. Roberts came away with a RBI when his single allowed Roberts to score, making it 3-2 Gwatney. The final run of the turn scored on a sacrifice fly by Castleberry to give the Chevy boys a 4-2 lead.
The Bruins refused to give up after the top of the fourth, scoring two runs in the bottom half. James Pepin led off for Sylvan Hills by reaching on an error, and Zach Rusenberger advanced him with a single to right.
Another error allowed Pepin to score, while Graves drove in Rusenberger on a fielder’s choice. Cody Cormeir scored the final run for the Bruins on a RBI by Pepin in the fifth after he singled to left.
Pepin reached on errors on all three trips to the plate, and had one RBI and one run scored for the Bruins. Cody Cormeir was 1 of 3 with on a single, a RBI and one run scored.
