Photo: Westbrook Christian’s Andrew Dutton delivers a pitch during the Warriors’ sweep over Section in the second round of the Class 2A state playoffs on Apr. 26 in Rainbow City. (Mike Goodson/Messenger)
By Mike Goodson/Sports Correspondent
The Westbrook Christian baseball team appear to be on a crusade.
After out-scoring Vincent by a 32-0 margin in the first round, the Warriors had little trouble in sweeping Section (11-12) in a pair of five-inning games, 13-1 and 14-0 in the second round of the Class 2A state playoffs on Apr. 26 in Rainbow City.
Westbrook (19-12) advanced to the quarterfinal round, where the Warriors will travel to Red Bay on Friday (May 3) for a doubleheader and a third game if needed on Saturday.
With the Warrior offense producing 23 hits, Samuel and Andrew Dutton effectively shut down the Lion bats. In the opener, Samuel gave up one earned run, a hit and three walks while striking out 12. In game 2, Andrew allowed a pair of hits with seven strikeouts and no walks three innings.
Westbrook head coach Matt Kennedy was pleased with his team’s performance.
“We’ve been preparing all season (for the playoffs). Those guys (the Duttons) go out there every time and give us a chance to win. They did what they were supposed to do. We threw strikes and we did our job at the plate.”
The Lions’ only lead of the series came in the top of the first inning in Game 1, when Samuel Dutton walked in a run with the bases loaded.
Westbrook scored four runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back. Joseph Gilchrist led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk, followed by a walk to Samuel Dutton. Andrew Dutton reached on a fielder’s choice and Greysen Robinson tied the game with an RBI double. Isaac James singled to plate two runs and Patterson added an RBI single to give the Warriors a 4-1 lead.
Westbrook added a pair of runs in the second and five more in the third. The Warriors closed out the scoring in the fourth with two runs for a 13-1 lead.
At the plate for the Warriors, Isaac James had two hits and three RBI; Greysen Robinson had a double and five RBI; John Ross Morgan and Fisher Glasgow each had a hit and two RBI; and Andrew Dutton had a triple, just missing a home run.
Westbrook led 1-0 after the first inning of the nightcap, but a seven-run second inning put the game out of reach. Westbrook added five more runs in the third and another in the fourth to build a 14-0 lead.
Robinson, Glasgow and Andrew Dutton each had two hits in the nightcap.
We had an opportunity to score runs, and that’s what we did,” said Kennedy. “We’re fortunate to have Samuel and Andrew Dutton but we have other guys who can pitch.”