ELIZABETHTOWN — East Bladen pounded 12 hits and Eagles pitcher Ty Watkins handcuffed the West Bladen hitters, scattering four hits across seven inning Tuesday, to lead East Bladen to a 9-1 Four County Conference win.

The lopsided win moved the 8-2 Eagles one-half game ahead of the 7-2 Knights for second place in the standings. Midway leads the conference at 8-1.

East Bladen jumped on the board quickly with two runs in the first inning when Sincere Smith walked, stole second, went to third on a throwing miscue and scored on an RBI single by Kyle Tatum. Moments later, Xavier Wooten laced a run-scoring single to give the Eagles a 2-0 edge.

After a scoreless second stanza, Tatum and Watkins led off the third with singles, Wooten legged out an infield single to load the bases and Quinton Bedsole lofted a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 edge. A second run scored on a wild pitch and Brooks McGill ripped a run-scoring single for a 5-0 lead and, moments later, Deondre Newkirk beat out a bunt single that scored another run for a 6-0 advantage.

West Bladen broke through in the top of the fourth inning when Trent West walked and, with two outs, scored on an RBI single from Trey Storms.

After a scoreless fifth inning, East Bladen extended its lead with three runs in the sixth. Shy Pone reached on an infield single, Smith walked and Tatum legged out an infield hit that scored a run. Wooten followed with an RBI single and the third run scored on a wild pitch to give the Eagles a 9-1 edge.

West Bladen couldn’t threaten in the seventh inning.

“Our bats woke up and we played good defense,” said East Bladen coach Russell Priest. “An Ty pitched really well. He’s deceiving.”

Watkins worked a complete-game on the hill for the win, giving up a run on four hits, five walks and striking out four.

At the plate, Tatum was 3-for-4 with two RBI; Wooten was 3-for-4 with two RBI; and McGill was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

“We just have to stop swinging at bad pitches,” West Bladen coach Kim Cain said. “We’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

West took the loss on the hill for the Knights, giving up nine runs on 12 hits over 5.1 innings. Jarrett Williams finished up with two fly balls.

At the plate, Weston Pidgeon was 2-for-4 and Storms had the RBI.

W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.

W. Curt Vincent

cvincent@civitasmedia.com