PRATTVILLE SWEEPS DOUBLEHEADER IN MARBURY

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GARRISON MATHIS & CHANDLER MUJLLINS TAME BULLDOGS IN IWN BILL

Prattville took a trip to Marbury Saturday afternoon, March 9, and came away with a doubleheader win over the Bulldogs.  It was the first trip to the new Marbury High School’s baseball diamond for Prattivlle High School.

The Lions and the Bulldogs played a solo game in Prattville last year with Marbury winning 6-4.

Old timers recall during the early 1950’s that Prattville and Marbury had amateur baseball teams that played, but could not recall the high schools meeting on the diamond.

When Prattville High School was known as Autauga County High School the football team played Marbury annually until the classification system was began by the Alabama High School Athletic Association in the late fifties.

The last meeting on the gridiron was November 5, 1965 during Horace Powell’s first year as head coach.  The game was played in Prattville and won by the Lions, 33-14.  The last game played in Marbury was November 6, 1964, when Prattville won 3-0, in the final year of Herb Chapman’s tenure as head coach at Autauga County High.

Saturday afternoon was a beautiful day for baseball at Marbury’s Diamond, and a large gathering of fans of both schools enjoyed a good day for baseball as the weather cooperated, and was not as cold as earlier in the week.

The folks that support the Bulldogs’ Athletic Program have to be very proud of the baseball and softball fields that have been constructed at Marbury.  The field sits adjacent to the new football field.  It is evident of the support of the community for athletics at the school.

FIRST GAME:  PRATTVILLE 2 MARBURY 1

The opener was an old fashion pitcher’s duel between Marbury’s talented freshman, Wallace Henry, a lanky 6-2 southpaw, and Prattville’s senior right-handed Garrison Mathis, won by Prattville, 2-1.

Marbury took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning.  Leadoff hitter Brett Spires worked Mathis for a walk, and then politely stole second base.  Jared Nixon’s ground ball to first base moved Spires to third.

Colton Thomas hit a nubbler down first base line as Spires dashed home.  Thomas was safe at first base, and then he also swiped second base.  However Mathis worked out of the jam by retiring Ben Barrett and Mike Peterson.

Mathis then pitched scoreless baseball, retiring 18 of the next 22 hitter he faced.  He got into a jam in the fourth inning after one was out when Taylor Spires reached base on an infield error, and Mathis plucked Mike Peterson

Spires was caught napping at first by Lion catcher Hayden White, and a great defensive play by third baseman Pearson Hall nailed the fleet Peterson at home trying to score on a single by Kyle Spires.

In the bottom of the seventh inning Henry collected his second hit of the game a single into left field.  Gabriel Wurtz was inserted to run for Henry, however on a 1-2 count Kyle Spires hit a scorching line drive to Hall at third that was snagged and fired to first to double off Wurtz ending the game

Henry had the Lions handcuffed as the game began.  The lanky frosh retired the first ten hitters he faced until he plucked Hall to start the fourth inning.  He then retired the side. 

To begin the fifth inning Henry got Chandler Kemp to roll out to first base.  Ethan Lambdin then broke up the no-hit bid with a double into deep center field on a 1-0 pitch.  Elisha Stewart walked.  Chase Barber stroked a single into left field to plate Lambdin and knot the game.

The following inning after one was out Hayden White connected on a 1-1 count and send the horsehide flying over the center field fence giving Prattville 2-1 lead.

That’s the way it ended.  Henry gave up only three hits.  Mathis gave up only four hits, and two of those were infield scratches.

SECONDGAME:  PRATTVILLE 7 MARBURY 5

Prattville took the early lead in the first inning.  Doug Price single to left field after one was out.  Base hits by Hayden White and Dalton Yarnell loaded the sacks, where Shelby McVey walked to send Price home for a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs quickly jumped on Prattville’s starting pitcher Luke Carey for two runs.  Gabriel Wurtz began the inning with a double, and then Carey walked Jared Nixon.  Consecutive singles from Colton Thomas and Ben Barrett plated Wurtz.  Taylor Spires lifted a long fly ball to Avery Morgan in left field to sent Nixon home for a 2-0 lead.

Prattville coach Martin Jackson removed Carey and brought in Chandler Mullins.  The sophomore responded like a senior.  Mullins struck out Henry and got Kyle Spires to pop up to catcher Hayden White.  He then sailed through four innings retiring 12 of the 14 hitters he faced.

Mullins ran into trouble in the sixth inning.  Taylor Spires opened the inning with a single followed by Mike Peterson’s single.  Henry flew out to left field; however on the first pitch Kyle Spires rapped a single into centerfield to plate Taylor Spires.  Jacob Skinner rolled out to second as Peterson went to third and Kyle Spires went to second.  Wurtz then singled to deep center field to plate Peterson and Spires cutting the lead to 7-5.

Mullins then struck out Nixon to end the uprising ending his day.     Jackson called on Pearson Hall to pitch the final inning.  Hall walked Colton Thomas to open the inning, but then settled down and struck out the side to earn a save and preserve the win for Mullins.

Prattville knotted the game in the second inning after Avery Morgan reached first base when he was hit by Nixon; Doug Price’s ground out to first base plated Morgan.  The Lions gained the lead in the third inning on a run producing double by McVey and a sacrifice fly by Will Hamm. 

Prattville added two more in the fourth inning with consecutive two base hits by Price and White and a walk to Mathis.  The final run was unearned in the fifth inning.  Jarrod Jones was hit by Ben Barrett, and went to third on a throwing error where he scored on Mathis’ single into right field.