By Andrew Garner
andalusia star-news

Opp’s Ethan Davis threw a three-hitter, allowed three unearned runs in five innings to help lift the Bobcats to a 8-4 victory over T.R. Miller on Tuesday night.
With the win, OHS claimed sole possession of second place by finishing 3-1 in its spring break tournament. The eighth-ranked Bobcats defeated Kinston 19-0, and lost 6-0 to top-ranked W.S. Neal earlier during the day.
“We competed the last two games today and had good pitching,” OHS coach Michael Cassady said. “Ethan Davis gave us a good chance to win the game. He went five innings and did a good job, especially after the first inning.”
The Tigers of Brewton scored two early runs in the top of the first inning and held the lead until the bottom of the second, where the Bobcats countered with four runs and the lead they’d never give up.
Opp’s Walker Messer came in in relief for Davis and allowed two hits in two innings of work, while striking out one to get the save.
“Walker Messer came in in the sixth and seventh, and did a good job of throwing strikes with the lead,” Cassady said.
TRM got a runner on with nobody out while trailing 5-3 in the top of the sixth inning when Messer was at his best.
Messer threw a strike, which resulted in a hard grounder to second base that set up a double play to clear the bases. The sophomore then struck the next Tiger out to end the inning.
Opp took a 8-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning on two RBI doubles and one error.
Dakota King reached on an error and courtesy runner Orlando Lacey came in and later trucked it home on an error by the left field position.
Opp junior Colt Harrell, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs, hit the first of two RBI doubles in his at bat to put the Bobcats ahead 7-3.
Zane Hollinghead, who went 1-for-4, added the second RBI double of the inning to give OHS its eighth run.
With its victory over the Tigers, Opp improves to 16-3 on the season. The Bobcats have won their last six of seven games.
Their only loss was the 6-0 decision to the Eagles.
“We had nine errors and six walks,” Cassady said about the loss to W.S. Neal. “It’s tough to beat the No. 1 team in the state with that many — don’t get me wrong, (WSN) coach (Coy) Campbell — I have a lot of respect for him and their team is a great team. That’s why they won the tournament, and that’s why they haven’t gotten a loss. They’ve got a good team and they play the game like it’s supposed to be played.”
TRM pushed its last run of the game across in the top of the seventh on a sharp grounder to the short stop.
Earlier in the half-inning, Tigers’ junior Dominique Jackson advanced to third base on a throwing error from King.
After the Bobcats cut the game to 2-1 in the bottom of the second, Harrell hit a two-run double to make it 3-2.
Opp’s Holt Hall then scored on a throwing error by the catcher to give the Bobcats their 4-2 lead.
The Bobcats led 5-3 in the bottom of the third when Chris Weeks crossed the plate on a passed ball.
Besides having a good night at the plate, Harrell made a crucial diving catch in the top of the fifth for the second out to pace the Bobcats in the win.
T.R. Miller’s Kevin Davis went 2-for-3; Jackson went 1-for-2; Kyle Davis went 1-for-3; and Trip Floyd went 1-for-4.
King also went 2-for-3 for the Bobcats. Jo Jo Jones and Davis went 1-for-3 each; and Brady Vidich went 1-for-2.
On the mound, Davis also had four strikeouts in his win.
The loss for T.R. Miller was their second of the day Tuesday in the tournament. T.R. Miller fell to 10-6 overall with the loss.