By Joshua Price/Sports Editor
West End High School defeated Fairview High School (Cullman County) on Feb. 27, 11-5, to improve its baseball record to 6-0.
Juniors Ryan Mashburn and Caleb Mayo led the Patriots’ offensive attack.
Mashburn batted 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI’s. Mayo tallied two hits on four at-bats with four runs and three stolen bases. Senior Skylar McCright batted 1-for-2 with three RBI’s, including a two-run single in the fifth inning that broke the game open.
Blake Simmons pitched 4 1/3 innings to earn the win.
West End head coach Chad Hall quickly pointed to the pitching efforts of Simmons, who filled a big hole in the Patriots’ fatigued pitching rotation.
“Blake [Simmons] is a surprise for us,” Hall said. “He worked hard in the off-season. He gave up a few hits, but [Fairview] never really hit him solid. He kept us in the game and that’s all I can ask him to do as a pitcher.”
Logan Moore relieved Simmons on the mound in the fourth inning. The senior threw 2 2/3 innings, giving up no hits and no walks while notching two strikeouts.
“Blake and Logan were great for us on the mound tonight,” Hall said. “If those guys can eat up more innings with kind of quality it will help us when we start area play next week.”
West End will host Gaston on March 1.
