Dudley short orders Grimsley 7-6

Special to Greensborosports.com and we encourage others to send us write-ups on your games…..It does us good to see and hear about the games from a different perspective….I know I enjoy the input and it gives us a chance to catch the game in more detail and to look back at it, after we have had a chance to let the game settle in our minds….A real good one at Dudley last night….The Panthers are good hosts and do keep us all entertained….

Dudley short orders Grimsley 7-6

On a chilly night off East Lee Street, in a hotly contested game, the Dudley fans
held onto their blankets and their beloved Panthers held on to narrowly defeat their
inner-city, Metro 4-A rival Grimsley Whirlies 7-6. It was game characterized by the
sound of big hits and the smell of hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. If the
Panther and Whirlie faithful had hoped for an exciting evening, then their orders
were filled.

Dudley had the hot hand first as lead-off hitter LF Keith Robinson singled and
scored on a pass ball in the first inning giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Grimsley
3B DJ Reader drew a lead-off walk to start the second inning and was moved into
scoring position by a bunt single from 2B Kyle Smith. Whirlie C Seth O’Fallon then
delivered a clutch single to drive in both Reader and Smith staking Grimsley to a
2-1 lead.

The Panthers responded in the bottom half of the second inning when 2B Myles Sowell
singled and later scored on a Whirlie fielding error tying the score at 2-2.

Things really started to cook for the Panthers in the third inning when C Zanie
Seagraves doubled to score DH Kevin Murphy who had been hit by a pitch earlier in
the inning. The Panther bats remained hot as Myles Sowell drilled a triple to
center field to score Seagraves and Rick Powell who had walked, pushing the lead to
5-2. Panther RF KJ McCallister kept things simmering with an RBI fly out to left
field scoring Sowell increasing the lead to 6-2. 3B Leon Smith singled and was
driven in by a made-to-order Keith Robinson single giving Dudley their largest lead
of the evening at 7-2.

With a comfortable 5-run lead, the Panthers were almost ready to push away from the
table and call it an evening when Whirlie C Sawyer Highfill stepped to the plate in
the top of the fifth and special-delivered a single driving in SS Kory Shumate who
had reached base earlier on a Panther infield error. The Whirlie offense was back
in business as DJ Reader got a stand-up double while scoring Highfill narrowing the
Panther lead to 7-4. After a walk by Kyle Smith, Whirlie RF Eric Stevens then
enjoyed a double-scoop of his own by driving a deep ball to the fence and scoring
Reader and Smith narrowing the deficit to 7-6. Stevens was caught with his hand in
the cookie jar as he was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

The Dudley concession stand put more charcoal on the grill and Panther P Corey
Kimber put more heat to the Whirlies, striking out 15 in a complete game win.
Sawyer Highfill pitched three full innings for the Whirlies before being relieved by
Kyle Smith who pitched well in striking out four Panthers in four complete innings
of work.

WP – Corey Kimber
LP – Sawyer Highfill

Grimsley 6 7 2
Dudley 7 7 1

Key Performers

Dudley
Myles Sowell 3-3 (3B, 2RBI)
Keith Robinson 3-4 (RBI)
Zanie Seagraves 1-2 (2B, RBI)
KJ McCallister 0-2 (RBI)
Leon Smith 1-3 (stolen base)
Rick Powell 0-1 (2BB)

Grimsley
DJ Reader 1-1 (RBI, 3BB)
Eric Stevens 1-3 (2B, 2 RBI)
Seth O’Fallon 1-3 (2 RBI)
Sawyer Highfill 1-3 (RBI)
Kyle Smith 1-3
Aaron Jones 1-4 (3B)
Kory Shumate 1-4 (scored)