By Gary Lloyd
CLAY — Hewitt-Trussville scored nine runs in the final two innings to win at rival Clay-Chalkville 9-5 on Monday night.
The Huskies scored four runs in the sixth inning and five more in the top of the seventh to erase a 2-0 deficit.
“They had all the energy and all the momentum,” said second-year Hewitt-Trussville head coach Jeff Mauldin. “To me, the biggest thing we did was remain calm and just kept playing the game.”
Freshman pitcher Cameron Moore got the win for Hewitt-Trussville, allowing just two earned runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters.
“He’s got a bright future if he keeps doing what he’s doing,” Mauldin said of the freshman pitcher. “We saw it last year in middle school that he had a chance to be really good.”
Clay-Chalkville (4-1) scored the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the fifth when junior shortstop Tyler Duke singled in Stephen Blackshear and Braxton Parvin. After three straight singles by Carter Pharis, Peyton Palmer and Riley Stokes in the top of the sixth, Alex Maze knocked in Pharis to make it a 2-1 game. An Alec Talley walk scored Palmer, a Cyle Moore walk scored Stokes and a fielder’s choice plated courtesy runner Zac Thomas to give the Huskies (5-3) a 4-2 lead after six innings.
In the top of the seventh, Hewitt-Trussville got two runs on passed balls, one on a Talley double, one on a Cyle Moore single and another on a double steal. A three-run double by sophomore Thomas Johns is all the Cougars could muster in the bottom of the seventh.
“I was just proud of our kids offensively of not panicking and just keep playing the game and trust the process of what we’re doing offensively,” Mauldin said.
For Clay-Chalkville, Duke was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Johns was 1-for-3 with three RBIs. Starting pitcher Matthew Calvert took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits across five innings. He fanned six batters.
For Hewitt-Trussville, Cyle Moore had two hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Talley had two RBIs, and Pharis and Palmer had two hits each.
The rivals play again Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Phil English Field in Trussville.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.