By Staff
Brewton Babe Ruth lost its last undefeated team and its last winless team last week.
The Phillies became the last team to suffer their first loss when they were upended by the Expos, while the Padres got their first victory at the expense of the Rockies.
It also included some great individual performances, especially by Rockies pitchers Mackie Jackson and James Hamric. Jackson struck out 18 in one game, while Hamric fanned 17 in another contest.
Rockies 8, Expos 4
The Rockies overcame deficits of 2-0 and 4-3 to post the win. Three-run fourth and fifth innings by the Rockies proved the difference.
Mackie Jackson powered the Rockies to the victory, as he had a pair of singles, a double and three RBIs. Brackin Davis also had a three-hit day, all singles, with an RBI. John Dixon had a single and an RBI. Aaron Nelson had a double. Landon Sowell, Kendall Land and James Hamric all had a single.
Hamric whiffed 17 Expos in a complete game victory. He scattered seven hits.
The Expos got a single, a triple and an RBI from Becker Denton. Tanner Shehan collected a single and a double. Justin Gomez had a single and drove in a run. Willie Southwell and Mabry Cook both added a single.
Pirates 15, Padres 5
The Pirates jumped out to a 5-0 advantage in the first two innings and needed only five total innings to beat the Padres.
Cris Griffin had three singles and drove in two runs to pace the Pirates. Jake Smith had a pair of singles and drove in three runs. Sam Sharpe posted a pair of singles and drove in two runs. James Freeman and Jake Hunsinger both had a pair of singles with an RBI. Corey Burkett also had two singles. Will Waters had a single and an RBI. Evan Burkett picked up an RBI. Jake Dixon had a single.
The Padres received a double and two RBIs from Ryan Meier. Tyler Brown, Jimmy Jones and Taylor Berry all had a single.
See BABE RUTH Page 7A
Waters went the distance on a five-hitter and struck out seven to get the win for the Pirates.
Phillies 8, Astros 5
The Phillies raced out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning and then withstood a late rally by the Astros.
Jimmy Conner had a three-hit (all singles), three-RBI night to pace the Phillies. Allen Williams had a single and a double. Fred Samuel added a pair of singles. Justin Ball and Baxley Raines both had a single and drove in a run. Corey Williams and Wesley Booker both added a single.
The Astros got a double from Brandon Odom. Drew Lambert, Justin Payne, Jared Cooper and Derek Busby all had a single.
Allen Williams tossed a complete game five-hitter for the Phillies, as he notched 13 strikeouts. Astros hurler Derek Busby whiffed 10 Phillies.
Expos 19, Phillies 9
The Expos used a big offensive attack to deal the Phillies their first setback of the season. The Expos stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and tallied 17 runs over the first three frames en route to the win.
Steven Murphy enjoyed a four-for-four night for the Expos with three singles, a triple and four RBIs. Aaron Lambert had three singles and matched Murphy's four RBIs. Justin Gomez had a trio of singles with an RBI. Travis Holland smacked a double and triple with two RBIs. Becker Denton also had a double and triple. Tanner Shehan collected a pair of singles. Willie Southwell had a double. Garrett Robinson aded a single. Edward Taylor picked up an RBI.
Baxley Raines had a three-hit game to lead the Phillies with a pair of singles, a double and three RBIs. Corey Williams contributed a pair of singles. Mikie Roye had a single and drove in two runs. Allen Williams, Wesley Booker and Steven Matthews all had a single. Thomas Emmons had a single and an RBI.
Garrett Robinson went the first three innings to get the win for the Expos.
Padres 11, Rockies 8
On the same night the Phillies suffered their first loss, the Padres picked up their first win at the expense of the Rockies.
The Padres scored in every inning and took the lead for good when they snapped a 3-3 deadlock with a three-run third inning.
The Padres got a single, a double and two RBIs from Tyler Nall. Jimmy Jones had two singles. Tyler Brown had two singles and an RBI. Jamar Travis, Jeremy Curry, Roy Brown and Taylor Berry all had a single and an RBI. Ryan Meier and Matt Hamric both had a single. Jake Hodge picked up an RBI.
Jones went the distance and struck out 10 to earn the win.
The Rockies wasted a strong offensive game from Kendall Land, who had a pair of singles, a triple and three RBIs. Mackie Jackson had a triple and drove in two runs. Jake Bounds, Brackin Davis and James Hamric all had a single. Aaron Nelson added an RBI.
Pirates 11, Astros 10
Bobby Freeman's RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Pirates the victory and capped off a big comeback by the winners. The Astros had a 5-0 lead in the first inning.
The Pirates got three singles and an RBI from Cris Griffin, while Bobby Freeman had another single to go along with his game-winning hit. Corey Burkett had a single and drove in a pair of runs. Will Waters had a double. James Freeman had a single with an RBI. Jake Smith, Sam Smith and Jake Hunsinger all had a single.
The Astros got a double and a triple from Brandon Odom. Jared Cooper added a pair of doubles, while John Mathieu and Kyle Baggett both had a pair of singles. Drew Lambert had two singles with an RBI. Derek Busby had two singles and two RBIs. Grant DeFrancisco and David Payne both added a single.
Evan Burkett worked the final two and two-thirds innings to pick up the win for the Pirates.
Phillies 14, Padres 4
The Phillies needed only five innings to bounce back from their first loss of the season and beat the Padres. The Phillies raced out to a 9-1 lead in the first three innings and never looked back.
Winning hurler Baxley Raines, who struck out nine and gave up just two hits, helped his cause at the plate with a single, a double and three RBIs.
Wesley Booker contributed three singles with an RBI for the Phillies. Allen Williams had a single and a double. Corey Williams had a pair of singles. Stephen Matthews had a pair of singles and drove in two runs. Jimmy Conner had a double. Fred Samuel, Justin Ball and Kevin Pace all had a single. Mikie Roye had a double and an RBI.
The Padres' two hits, both singles, were divided between Jake Hodge and Jimmie Jones.
Rockies 12, Pirates 1
Rockies pitcher Mackie Jackson turned in a dominating performance, as he allowed just one hit and struck 18 for the Rockies.
The Rockies got a single from James Hamric, Brackin Davis and Jacob Cannon. Chase Crosby had a double.
Bobby Freeman accounted for the Pirates lone hit with a triple and drove in the team's lone run.
The Rockies cruised to a 7-0 lead with a four-run rally in the opening frame and a three-run uprising in the fifth inning en route to the victory.
Expos 18, Astros 8
It took a while for the Expos to get their offense going, but they put on quite a show once they did.
The Astros had a 6-0 lead through three innings, but the Expos put up five, four, five and four runs respectively in each of the next four innings.
The Expos got three singles and two RBIs from Justin Gomez. Becker Denton and Travis Holland both had a single, a double and three RBIs. Steven Murphy had a pair of singles and drove in two runs. Mabry Cook and Tanner Shehan both had two singles. Aaron Lambert and Willie Southwell both had a single and an RBI. Todd Robinson had a single.
The Astros got a pair of singles from John Mathieu. Justin Payne, Jared Cooper and Ryne Hand all had a single.
Denton was the winning Expos pitcher, as he went the distance on a five-hitter and struck out 14.