Terrell Academy run-rules Sherwood in season opener

ALBANY — For one inning Thursday night at Legacy Park, the Eagles took flight.

The Terrell Academy Eagles sent 14 batters to the plate in the top of the first, scored nine runs and rode that avalanche to an 11-1, run-rule victory over the Sherwood Christian Academy Eagles in the season opener for both teams.

Yes, it was Eagles versus Eagles. But only one flock found early lift.

Hunter Green reached on an error to open the game, and Terrell immediately went to work. Flint McCullogh followed with a single. Brody Cowart delivered another, driving in Green for the first run of the season. Then came the swing that broke it open.

Jack Hampson turned on a pitch and sent it over the center-field fence for a three-run homer, staking Terrell to a 4-0 lead before Sherwood could settle in. Later in the inning, Green ripped a bases-loaded double to left, stole third and eventually scored on a passed ball, the ninth run of an inning that felt like it would not end.

“I liked how it went as well,” Terrell head coach Ashley Walker said. “We are so very young with no seniors and five juniors. We have to rely on some really young guys in key spots.”

That youth was evident — both in the explosive start and in the innings that followed.

Sherwood, less than 24 hours removed from a GIAA basketball tournament loss Wednesday night, managed to steady things after the first. In the bottom half of the opening frame, Gregg walked, stole second and scored on a single to left by John Butler to account for Sherwood’s only run.

From there, Terrell’s bats cooled.

“Sherwood did a really good job of adjusting their game plan in attacking our hitters after the first inning, and we didn’t adjust with them,” Walker said. “They pitched us really tough after the first and we had some ‘let down’ at-bats in the innings that followed. But that’s credit to Sherwood and their staff for making that happen.”

Cowart made sure the early cushion held.

The right-hander worked four innings, allowing just two hits and one earned run. He struck out seven and walked two, though Walker noted there was still room for growth.

“Brody pitched well… pitched a little behind in the count more than we needed him to with a lead,” Walker said. “Flint did a good job of coming in and attacking the zone to finish the game.”

Indeed, McCullogh closed the door by pounding the strike zone, preserving a clean defensive effort behind him.

“Overall, we played clean defensively,” Walker said. “We have to find our identity as a team and we have to understand that this season is going to be a process. We can’t allow ourselves to get caught up in individual results, and we have to grow together.

“We showed a few flashes tonight of our potential as well as we let our inexperience and youthfulness show after our explosive first inning.”

That, Walker believes, is the larger point.

“All in all, it’s a really good first win of a really impactful year moving forward as we grow.”

Terrell travels to Grace Christian on Tuesday afternoon. Sherwood will try to regroup Saturday at Legacy Park with a 3 p.m. first pitch against Westover, hoping the first inning of 2026 proves to be a lesson rather than a lingering memory.