By Chris McCarthy/Editor
Sparked by a standout pitching effort from Chase Beggs, Class 4A No. 8 Hokes Bluff posted its second shutout of the season over Glencoe, in this case a 9-0 victory on Tuesday (Mar. 29) at Glencoe City Park.
In seven innings, Beggs held the Yellow Jackets to two hits and one walk while striking out 14. He retired the side in order three times and sent down the final six Glencoe batters.
Beggs’ only tight spot came in the bottom of the fifth inning, when a walk and two hit batters brought the tying run to the plate with two outs.
The senior right-hander quickly diffused the potential rally with a strikeout, and the hosts managed only one more baserunner the rest of the way.
“When Coach Rob calls the pitches, it’s pretty easy to throw strikes,” said Beggs. “In baseball, like anything else, you have good days and bad days, and this felt like a good day. When you’re up eight runs, its easy to pitch.”
Hokes Bluff head coach Mike Robertson appreciated the fact that Beggs was at his finest when the pressure was on.
“When [Glencoe] did get a few runners on, he seemed to make good pitches. Chase is a competitor. He reached back a couple of times and made some important pitches. I also thought that [catcher] Wyatt [Watson] did a good job as his battery mate. [Dalton] Roberts is a great pitcher, and I though we made some good adjustments at the plate, especially our left-handed hitters.”
Roberts displayed some of his veteran savvy in the top of the fourth inning when the senior left-hander picked off a pair of Eagle runners at first base.
“He’s got a great move to first, and we knew that,” said Robertson. “But besides that I thought we ran the bases pretty well.”
The Eagle offense provided Beggs with ample support. Fisher Simmons, Kaden Moore and Carson Eubanks scored in the top of the third inning, while Austin Willbanks RBI single in the fifth plated Brett Haney for a 4-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets came up empty with the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, and the visitors gained some breathing room in the sixth with three runs off four hits. Eubanks and Beggs both had RBI doubles in the inning to help push the Eagle advantage to 7-0.
Jeff Ford’s leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth turned out to be the final Glencoe baserunner of the game, while Jace Stewart’s RBI triple in the seventh and his score off an error capped the scoring.
For Hokes Bluff (14-5, 3-1), Willbanks went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored; Simmons and Eubanks each went 2-for-4 with two runs scored; Haney ha a hit, an RBI and two runs scored; and Beggs and Stewart each had a hit, an RBI and a run scored.
In six innings, Roberts scattered 12 hits and two walks while fanning six.
“We put a lot of balls in play,” said Robertson. “It’s easier said than done, but good teams added on a few more runs towards the end of the game, and we were able to do that today.”