Terrell Academy falls to Citizens Christian despite Jack Hampson’s three-run homer

DAWSON – Terrell Academy sophomore Jack Hampson delivered a clutch three-run home run in the fourth inning to give the Eagles a 10-9 lead, but they couldn’t hold on, falling to Citizens Christian Academy 15-11 on Tuesday in Dawson.

“All in all, we played well enough offensively to win,” Terrell Academy Head Coach Ashley Walker said. “You’re supposed to win when you score 11 runs. We just didn’t get the job done on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, we did what we had to do to win, but CCA did a good job of putting the ball in play and putting pressure on us to make plays. We made some of them, but others we didn’t.”

The Patriots jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning against Terrell Academy starter Kyle Hall. Despite the rough start, the Eagles kept battling. After Citizens Christian extended their lead to 9-3 with four runs in the fourth inning, Terrell Academy answered with an explosive seven-run rally in the bottom half.

Hunter Green sparked the comeback with a single, followed by singles from Harrison Dozier, Kyle Hall, and Tucker Leanza, the latter driving in the first run. With two outs, Brooks Strickland ripped a line drive to center field to score two more runs, and Jace Berry walked to load the bases. Then, Hampson launched a towering three-run homer over the left field fence, giving the Eagles a 10-9 advantage.

The Patriots responded in the fifth inning with three runs, including a home run from Blake Bryant, retaking the lead at 12-10.

In the bottom of the fifth, Dozier led off with a solo home run over the left field fence, cutting the deficit to one, but that would be the final run Terrell Academy could produce. Citizens Christian added three more runs in the later innings to secure the victory.

“CCA did a good job of getting timely hits, and we didn’t do a good job of pitching ahead or making pitches when we were ahead in the count, which also put a lot of pressure on our defense,” Walker said. “We had errors in some timely spots. We have to make the plays when they present themselves.”

The Eagles tallied 15 hits but were undone by six costly errors. Green led the way at the plate, going 4-for-5. Dozier, Hall, Leanza, Strickland, and Hampson each had two hits.

Hall started on the mound for Terrell Academy, pitching three and one-third innings while allowing seven runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out two. Landon Rogers entered in the fourth, giving up seven runs (three earned) on four hits while walking two and striking out one. Brody Cowart finished the game, surrendering four hits and one run.

The Eagles are set to play at Westwood on Tuesday afternoon in Camilla and will then host Southwest Georgia next Thursday. Both games are scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.

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