By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
They came out with plenty of pop, with five runs and three hits in the first inning of game one. But while the Brewton American Legion Post 79 baseball team did not have much fizz the rest of the night, it had just enough offense to complete its second doubleheader sweep of the season against visiting Covington County Wednesday.
Post 79 held on for a 6-3 win in the opener. Game two saw four Brewton pitchers combine on a two-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory. Game two was shortened to five innings.
The sweep improved Post 79's record to 4-0 against Covington County and 0-10 against all other teams.
Half of Brewton's six hits for the evening came in the first inning of the opener, when seven of Post 79's first eight batters reached safely. Justin Smith walked and went to third on a single by Jakes Bonds. Baxley Raines drove home Smith with an RBI groundout that gave Brewton a 1-0 lead it would not relinquish. Jordan Ball drilled an RBI single that scored Bonds to make it 2-0. Clay Simpson and Dannon Lisenby were both hit by pitches on consecutive at-bats to load the bases. One run scored when Becker Denton reached on an infield error. The biggest hit of the inning and the game came one batter later when Corey Flowers' two-run double bumped the lead up to 5-0.
Brewton starting hurler Baxley Raines allowed just one hit and no runs over the first three innings, but Covington County touched him for a pair of hits, one of them an RBI single, in the fourth that reduced the lead to 5-1.
Reliever Corey Flowers, who took over in the fifth, was tagged for a solo homerun followed by a double to start the sixth that cut the lead to 5-2.
W.S. Neal graduate Whitney Qualls was summoned to close the door and he got some big help from former Blue Eagle teammate Justin Smith. Qualls gave up a single into centerfield to the first batter he faced, but Smith gunned down the lead runner at home plate. While Qualls gave up an RBI groundout one batter later that cut Brewton's lead to 5-3, Smith's throw may have preserved the win.
Two of Brewton's three hits after the first inning came in the bottom of the sixth when Post 79 picked up a key insurance run. Simpson stroked a one-out double and scored on an RBI single by Denton that upped the advantage to 6-3.
Brewton completed the sweep in game two despite the fact it had just one hit. The one hit, an RBI single by Christopher Griffin, came in the bottom of the second inning when Post 79 plated both of its runs.
Bonds led off with a walk and Denton reached on an infield throwing error. Flowers hit into a fielder's choice that forced out Denton at second base, but Will Waters came through with an RBI groundout that gave Post 79 the only run it needed. Griffin followed with his RBI single that doubled the cushion to 2-0.
Qualls went the first two innings, while Allen Williams, Lisenby and Smith all hurled a scoreless inning of relief.
Brewton is off until Tuesday when it plays a 4 p.m. doubleheader at Dothan. Post 79 will play again Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Wiregrass.
Game one
Covington Co. 000 102 0 - 3 7 2
Brewton 500 001 X - 6 5 0
Game two
Covington Co. 000 00 - 0 2 3
Brewton 020 0X - 2 1 1