Baconton Charter run-rules Pelham, 15-3

PELHAM – The rivalry between Baconton Charter and Pelham High School has typically produced close, hard-fought games between the two Mitchell County programs. Thursday’s matchup, however, was anything but.

The top-ranked Blazers jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first three innings and went on to defeat the Hornets 15-3 in a five-inning, run-rule victory at Pelham High School.

With the win, Baconton extended its winning streak to 14 games and improved to 23-1 on the season. Pelham fell to 15-5. The Blazers also beat the Hornets 4-2 earlier in the week on Tuesday.

The scoring started early and in bunches. After Logan Hurst walked, David Cruz bunted for a base hit, and Hurst raced all the way to third. One out later, pitcher Hudson Coronati singled to drive in both Hurst and Cruz.

Kyle Logue walked, and Lee Worsham followed with an RBI single to right. Brett Brown then doubled to left to push the lead to 5-0. Brown would later score on an error to make it 6-0 before Pelham had a chance to bat.

In the second inning, Cruz singled and Grayson White followed with a line-drive triple to center. Coronati then doubled to right to make it 8-0. The Blazers nearly tacked on more, but Pelham left fielder Buckner made an over-the-shoulder running catch on a deep drive by Brown to end the inning.

The Blazers continued their offensive onslaught in the third, scoring four more runs before the Hornets recorded the first out. By the end of the frame, Baconton led 14-0 and was close to ending the game early.

Pelham managed to avoid the three-inning run rule. Knight doubled to right to score Taylor and Jewell, then later came home on a groundout by Derosett to make it 14-3.

Coronati pitched all five innings for Baconton, allowing three hits and three runs. He walked two and struck out six. Jewell took the loss on the mound for Pelham.

Baconton Charter will host the Academy for Classical Education (ACE) of Macon on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Hornets will return to action Tuesday at home against Pataula Charter.

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