Terrell Academy edges Deerfield Windsor on Sloan home run

ALBANY — The rivalry drama was real. On a near-perfect spring afternoon for baseball, Garrett Sloan hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning to give the Terrell Academy Eagles a 6-5 victory over the Deerfield-Windsor Knights at Addison Field on the Deerfield-Windsor campus in Albany.

Sloan’s two-run blast over the deepest part of the center field fence scored Daniel Myers, who had walked, and himself to give the Eagles the lead heading into the final at-bat for the Knights.

The Knights had jumped into the lead in the bottom of the sixth with four runs. The Knights got two hits in the sixth, combined with two Terrell errors to put four runs on the board and erase the 4-1 lead Terrell had going into the inning. Drew Dixon singled to start the inning, followed by a walk by Davis Lawson. Runners moved ahead on a wild pitch and then Jack Kimbrel smacked the ball into right field to score two runs. Drew Reich belted the ball to short, where the error occurred scoring Kimbrel. Jake Kinney scored the other run in the inning to give the Knights the 5-4 lead.

“Our pitchers did a good job getting out of some tough situations, especially early in the game,” said Terrell head coach Ashley Walker. “We just didn’t make the defensive plays in the sixth inning that we should have and they got the big inning.”

Terrell senior left-hander Daniel Myers pitched the first 5 2/3 innings and left with the 4-3 lead. Sophomore Will Denham came in to relieve Myers after Kimbrel’s two RBIs. Denham finally got the Eagles out of the inning, but then had more drama in the final at bat for the Knights. Will Plowden led the seventh off with a single and then Walker Revell followed with a sharply hit ball to short. After a wild pitch had runners at second and third, Walker brought in Ethan Gay to pitch for the Eagles. He got the first batter, Jake Kinney, by hitting the ball to second. The Terrell defense held the runners at second and third.

The Knights then tried a double steal to get the tying run home, but again the Terrell defense was able to get the out and that left a runner at third with two outs. Gay struck out Grayson Darby to end the threat and secure the win for the Eagles.

Joe Whitfield

Joe Whitfield

By Joe Whitfield