By Shannon J. Allen/Sand Mountain Reporter
The Etowah High baseball team has made a habit of defending its home turf through the years, and last Thursday (April 9) was no exception.
A strong pitching performance from sophomore Eli Dunn propelled the sixth-ranked Blue Devils (24-9, 6-1) to a 6-0 victory over Boaz at Larry Foster Field in a contest that decided the Class 5A, Area 13 championship.
In seven innings, Dunn limited the Pirates (15-12) to three hits while striking out five. Etowah finished with nine hits against three Boaz pitchers.
“Dunn did a great job on the mound and kept us off-balance,” said Boaz head coach Adam Keenum. “We had him on the ropes at times, but we couldn’t string some stuff together and really get in a rhythm.”
Logan Steele’s RBI double in the bottom of the second inning started the scoring, while
Devin Freeman belted an RBI double to give Etowah a 2-0 margin in the bottom of the third.
Taylor Camper lined a single to left field in the top of the fourth for Boaz’s initial hit of the contest.
The Blue Devils plated four runs in the home half of the fourth, however, extending their advantage to 6-0. Dustin Robinson smashed a two-run triple into the right-center field gap. Paul Ruiz stroked an RBI single and later scored on a two-out error.
Trey Knott singled in the fifth, and Wesley Burns singled in the sixth to provide Boaz’s other hits against Dunn.
Etowah will host Lawrence County on Friday in the first round of the state playoffs.