Piedmont closed out the 2008 baseball season with a pair of home field victories on Tuesday of last week. The Bulldogs topped Spring Garden 13-3 then defeated Ragland 15-0. Both games ended after five innings. With the wins, Piedmont closed the year 15-9 but did not reach the Class 2A playoffs.
“We had high expectations going into the year. We’ve got some good baseball players at Piedmont. We didn’t win the games that mattered most,” said Bulldogs coach Steve Smith, referring to the 2A, Area 12 losses.
“We had lapses in some area (pitching, offense, defense) in those Area games that really hurt us,” Smith added. “We had a good season. We beat a lot of quality opponents but we didn’t reach the playoffs.”
Saks, Weaver, Wellborn, Glencoe, Cedar Bluff and Ragland – all teams that Piedmont defeated outside of Area 12 play – each advanced to the AHSAA baseball playoffs. Saks, Wellborn, Cedar Bluff and Ragland all won their first round series.
Elliott Reedy pitched five strong innings for the Bulldogs against Spring Garden. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. Spring Garden’s three runs, scored in the fifth inning, were unearned.
Piedmont took command early with five runs in the first inning. With one out, Shaughn Rankin and Kyle Glover walked. Seth Reedy’s single scored Rankin and moved Glover to third. After Seth Reedy stole second, Elliott Reedy stroked a two-run single. Kirk Pope’s base hit moved Elliott Reedy to third and Wesley Minton delivered a sacrifice fly to score him. The scoring ended when Chase Childers singled to score Pope.
In the third, Piedmont added two runs. Elliott Reedy opened the inning with a home run. With one out, Minton singled. He eventually scored when Derek McElroy reached on an error. Glover led off the fourth with a double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Elliott Reedy’s sacrifice fly.
After the Panthers made the score 8-3 in the top of the fifth, Piedmont put another five-run inning on the scoreboard and ended the game. With one out, Daniel Hammett walked and stole second. Adam Thomas walked and both Hammett and Thomas advanced on a passed ball. Glover’s base hit scored Hammett. With two out, Elliott Reedy was hit by a pitch. Thomas and Glover scored on wild pitches. Matt Reynolds doubled to score Reedy. Minton’s single sent Reynolds home to expand Piedmont’s lead to 10 runs and end the game.
Elliott Reedy, Glover and Minton ended with two hits. Glover and Reedy both scored three times. Reedy drove in four runs and Minton had two RBI.
Pope was the starter and winner against Ragland. He went three innings, struck out seven, walked one and allowed three hits. In the fourth, Minton took the mound for the first time this year. He gave up a double and a walk but fanned three to keep the Purple Devils scoreless. Rankin pitched his second inning of the season in the fifth and struck out two of the three hitters he faced.
The Bulldogs tallied all the runs they would need with a seven-run first inning. The inning began innocently enough with two fly-ball outs. Glover walked and Seth Reedy delivered a home run. Elliott Reedy singled and stole second before Pope walked. Minton’s triple scored both runners. Childers followed with an RBI single. Darrius Jackson singled behind Childers. McElroy drove in two more runs with another single. In all, 13 Piedmont batters came to the plate and seven scored.
In the third, Piedmont added five runs. Minton’s two-out, three-run home run was the big blow. Glover and Elliott Reedy had RBI singles ahead of Minton’s blast.
Piedmont added three runs in the fourth. Elliott Reedy’s ground out scored Rankin, who had singled. Glover, on base with a single, and Pope, who had walked, scored Piedmont’s final runs of the season when Minton smacked a two-run double.
Against Ragland, Piedmont pounded out 16 hits. Rankin, Minton and Elliott Reedy each had three hits. Minton had nine total bases and seven RBI. Glover had two hits, walked twice, scored three times and drove in two runs. Pope walked three times and scored twice.
On the day, Minton was 5-for-6 with nine RBI. Elliott Reedy ended his high school career with a 5-for-6 day and six RBI.
