By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Remington Bullets AA team got its second win over vaunted Pine Bluff-Relyance Bank on Tuesday in its final regular-season game before the Zone tournament begins today in Heber Springs. The Lonoke squad won Tuesday’s game in White Hall 12-10, a game in which neither team threw any of its main pitchers.
The Bullets led 12-6 going into the bottom of the ninth inning and managed to stop a White Hall rally at four runs to maintain the win, but they didn’t enjoy that big lead for most of the game.
White Hall held a 4-1 lead after four innings before Josh Mathis took the mound for Remington and held Relyance scoreless over the next three innings. Lonoke then scored two runs in the fifth inning, four in the seventh and three more in the top of the eighth to take a 10-4 lead.
White Hall scored two in the bottom of the eighth off Christian James, but Lonoke answered with the same count in the top of the ninth.
Lane Moore led the way for Lonoke offensively. He went 3 for 5 at the plate with three runs batted in and three runs scored. Blake Gooden went 2 for 4 and reached base four times. Christian James also went 2 for 4.
Madison James drove in the game’s first run in the top of the first inning and the Remington bats went quiet for the next three innings. In the fifth, Mathis drew a leadoff walk in the nine-hole position, and Gooden walked to put two runners on. Lane Moore grounded out to second, but advanced the runners into scoring position. Guy Halbert then doubled down the left-field line to score both runners and pull Lonoke to within 4-3.
Mathis gave up a leadoff double and a walk to start the bottom of the fifth, but got a double play when he struck out the next batter, and Madison James gunned down a would-be base stealer at third.
The failed stolen base attempt proved costly for White Hall, as the next batter singled for what likely would have been an RBI, instead, it left runners at the corners and Mathis got the next batter to fly out to right field to get out of the inning.
Mathis and Gooden again drew back-to-back walks to start the top of the seventh for Lonoke. Moore singled to drive in Josh M and leave runners at first and second. Halbert flew out to left field and Gooden advanced to third. Lonoke then tried a double steal that failed.
Gooden was tagged out at home and Moore advanced to second.
Madison James and Nick Watson then drew walks to load the bases with two outs. Moore and Madison James scored on a passed ball and a wild pitch, and Christian James doubled to centerfield to drive in Watson and give Lonoke a 7-4 lead.
Mathis walked yet again to start the eighth inning, but Gooden failed to reach. Moore singled and Halbert reached on an error at shortstop that scored a run. With two outs, Moore scored on another passed ball before a single by Watson drove in Halbert to make it 10-4.
After two Relyance runs in the bottom of the eighth, Lonoke made it 12-6 before a Moore double scored Mathis and Blake Gooden in the ninth.
Lonoke played Stuttgart last night in the first round of the zone tournament. The top two teams from each zone tournament will advance to the state tournament.
