Since each player on West Marion’s roster was born, the Trojans have never swept Columbia in baseball — until now.
After taking down the Wildcats (5-9, 1-3) 9-0 in Game 1 March 22, the Trojans (13-1, 4-0) came back with a five-run sixth inning Saturday to beat Columbia 7-4 to earn the sweep.
“That’s the first time that I can remember that we swept Columbia,” Trojans head coach Derrick Jerkins said. “I started playing high school baseball in 2003, and that’s the first time we’ve swept Columbia in a series. It was definitely big for us to be able to do that against a cross-town rival. Hopefully that will help us carry some momentum throughout the district.”
Jerkins said what sparked West Marion’s comeback was a Kollin Green bunt, which Columbia misplayed with the ball being thrown down the right field line trying to get Green out at first. Another key point, he said, was when pinch-runner Larry Magee got caught in a rundown that included six throws but still managed to be safe and eventually come around to score.
“That was a big momentum shift in the game. So basically just putting some pressure on them defensively was a big part of that,” he said.
Miles Maliden tossed 3 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) while striking out two. Josh Boone picked up the win in relief, allowing just one run in 3 1/3 innings. Going into the season, Jerkins said he wasn’t sure how West Marion’s pitching would be behind Jayden Duncan, who was the lone Trojans with legitimate varsity experience on the mound, but several Trojans pitchers have stepped up.
“I told our assistant coaches before the season that if we don’t pitch, we won’t be very good. But Miles, Boone, Tre Broom and Cooper Foxworth have all pitched well for us on the mound this year. Without those guys, we wouldn’t have anyone for district starts (behind Duncan) that would always pitch well for us. It’s been a pleasant surprise for sure,” he said.
Columbia was rolling along just fine through five innings behind freshman Nik Carney, who allowed just two runs in 4 2/3 innings while striking out three, before the wheels fell off in the sixth.
“I thought Nick Carney pitched really, really well,” Columbia head coach Kyle Lindsey said. “I thought he kept them off balance and attacked the zone for the first four innings. When we go to the fifth, I thought from my point of view, with it being more of a hot humid day than we’ve had and with the hour-and-a-half delay before the game, and him having to get loose twice played a factor in my decision. With him being a ninth grader at 70 pitches, I really believe his legs were cooked at that point.”
After making the difficult call to pull Carney, Lindsey turned to Dylan Broom, who surrendered five runs (four earned) on two hits and two walks.
“In that spiral inning, they don’t move the ball out of the infield for the first two hitters, but they were able to create some things. We made some of the mistakes defensively, they put some pressure on us in and the inning kind of spiraled on us,” Lindsey said. “I saw some emotions come out of our guys that we have to learn to keep in check in those moments. We need to not let the moment be too big.”
For the Trojans, Tre Broom led the way with a double, two singles and an RBI, while Jonathan Miller and Boone each had two hits and drove in a run. Mason Parrett (double), Cole Crozier and Duncan each plated a run as well.
For the Wildcats, Eli Lowery launched a two-run homer, and Tucker Lucas crushed a solo shot.
Columbia began an away-and-home, two-game series against Seminary (4-8) Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time. The Wildcats will play the Bulldogs in Game 2 Thursday at home before hosting Purvis Friday.
Lindsey said that any time you play a district opponent, you’re going to get their best effort. He added that Seminary has a guy on the mound that strikes out nearly two batters an inning and has swing-and-miss stuff.
“Defensively we have to keep them in check off the bases. I think it’s going to be a pretty good matchup. West has kind of separated themselves as being the top dog in the district right now. I think us and Seminary are kind of fighting for that two and three spot,” he said. “I don’t want to look too far ahead because every game is as big as the next, but this is a big series for us. We have to do our best to get both of them from them.”
Coming off the series against the Trojans, who are ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 3A, Lindsey said the Wildcats learned that they have to bring the right level of intensity, energy and effort to be able to handle big moments.
