Corinth Holders slides by Wilson Hunt baseball

Corinth Holders could muster up just one unearned run, but it proved to be enough Wednesday night as the Pirates used a trio of pitchers to shut out Wilson’s Hunt High 1-0 in a nonconference baseball game.

Corinth Holders, which got just two hits in six innings against Hunt starter Jacob Williamson, scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. Leadoff hitter Eli Dalton struck out but reached first on a catcher’s error. He got to second when Williamson bounced a pitch that catcher Ty Galloway couldn’t block and moved to third on a ground out. Dalton scored when a Williamson slider went off Galloway’s mitt.

Pirates sophomore Conner Bass then pitched his third shutout inning of the game to get his third win of the year.

Corinth Holders is 5-1 overall, while Hunt fell to 1-7.

Out of bounds

In a different twist, Corinth Holders coach Adam Weaver did not want to be interviewed after the game. “Go talk to coach Howard,” Weaver said. “I’m superstitious.”

“We won the last game and I talked to the guys,” assistant Ricky Howard said. “As long as we win Adam’s not going to change things up. He’s going to keep it consistent.”

Three to know

Eli Dalton, Corinth Holders: The sophomore leadoff hitter and centerfielder had one of the Pirates’ two hits off Williamson, a double. He scored the winning run after striking out and reaching on a catcher’s error.

“I was out in front of the pitch and it broke into the dirt as I swung,” Dalton said. “But we had all said if we get someone on in the sixth we were going to score.”

Conner Bass, Corinth Holders: The tall, right-hander allowed just one base runner in his three innings, on a walk, and he picked off that runner to face just nine batters over the last three innings.

Jacob Williamson, Hunt: Williamson, a senior headed to the Naval Academy next year, gave up just two hits, no walks, and struck out seven in his six innings. He also led off the game with a double.

“Jacob pitched extremely well,” said Hunt coach John Smith. “That’s five good pitching performances we’ve had and come out on the short end.”

What worked

Pirates senior lefty Tyler Brown pitched the first two innings, junior lefty Josh Jarman pitched the next two, and Bass finished the job. They combined for nine strikeouts. Brown and Jarman pitched into and out of trouble, but still shut out the Warriors.

“The big pitches they made with runners on base showed the mentality they have out there,” coach Howard said. “Some teams get comfortable seeing the same guy throughout the game, but we’ve got some decent depth on our pitching staff and we’re able to bring in different guys like that.”

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Corinth Holders slides by Wilson Hunt baseball."