Tattnall digs out of early hole to win 3-2 against rival FPD in key region matchup

The first pitch of the game?

A solid liner to deep center from FPD’s Keon Johnson, who sends a lot of solid liners to deep somewhere.

The seventh pitch? A nice shot from Brady McHugh that allowed Johnson to score easily.

Before Tattnall ace Wyatt Still had thrown 15 pitches, he and the Trojans were down 2-0.

But then Still found a groove on the mound, limiting the Vikings while the Tattnall offense turned things around to give the Trojans a 3-2 win Tuesday over FPD in a key region showdown.

“Baseball is kind of  a crazy game,” said FPD head coach Greg Moore. “There were a lot of things going on there. Ultimately, they had some good at-bats when they needed to have them, and some kids did some good things for them in some important situations. And we didn’t match it, honestly.”

The Vikings fell to 16-4 overall and 2-1 in GIAA District 6-4A/3A play, the Trojans improving to 17-2 and 3-0 with their 10^th straight win. Tattnall improved to 7-0 in one-run games.

Tinsley Lewis ended a seven-pitch at-bat to bring in McHugh for the second run of the first inning after a steal and throwing error pushed him to third. That put FPD up 2-0 after just 23 pitches by Still.

On the hill for FPD was Mercer-bound Conner Strandmark. The Trojans started battling immediately, as Still turned a stellar nine-pitch at-bat before drawing a two-out walk. Anson Talcott followed with a single before Strandmark ended the inning with a strikeout on his 30^th pitch.

Still needed only 23 pitches to get out of the next two innings, while Tattnall kept pushing Strandmark on a night where the Trojans had at least two baserunners in all but one inning.

Tattnall stranded two in the second and two in the third before finally breaking through, after four of seven Trojans struck out. Chandler Cook and Boone Fyke singled from the 8 and 9 spots in the order, and an infield single on a superb bunt by Marquez Wilson loaded the bases.

Cook came in on Tristan Turner’s single to right, but Fyke was tagged out after a rundown when he slipped after passing third, a situation head coach Jordan Brooks took the blame for.

“I was actually stopping him and when he put on the brakes, he slipped,” Brooks said. “It’s on me, trying to see the guy field the ball, make sure he fields it cleanly. That’s me trying to get a little greedy.”

The inning ended a batter later on a hard shot to first baseman Grant Martin.

FPD wasted a leadoff double in the fifth by Johnson, which was followed by an intentional walk. After a double-play and hit batter, Still got a strikeout to end the threat.

“We really never were much of a threat after the first inning until the seventh,” Moore said. “(Still) settled into a really nice job pitching. I thought our guy did a great job pitching. You tell me (Strandmark) is going to hold them to two or three runs, I feel like we got a chance to win the ballgame.”

The lefty Still retired eight of 10 batters at one point in the middle of the game.

“I thought Wyatt settled in, and nerves got kind of flushed,” Brooks said. “He was able to command his own and kind of settle into who he’s been this year. I thought we played defense behind him.”

Tattnall battling at the plate finally paid off in the bottom of the sixth.

Anson Talcott worked hard for a walk and Griffey Gorman singled. After a couple of steals on different pitches, Braxton Collins delivered a two-run single to center through a short infield.

Collins, Cook and Fyke from 7, 8, and 9 combined to go 5-for-9 for Tattnall, with Collins driving in two runs.

“The bottom of our lineup was great,” Brooks said of the trio that came up with half of Tattnall’s hits. “They were a big part of us scoring three runs.”

FPD’s tamed bats were revived in the top of the seventh, as Strandmark opened the final frame with a walk before Johnson reached an out later on a grounder that ate up Tattnall second baseman Wilson.

But Wilson — who had come up with a big leaping catch to end the sixth — made a huge play two pitches later when he dove to his left to stab a grounder and get the second out, keeping Strandmark from scoring the tie run.

“Hats off to the kid,” Moore said. “He doesn’t make that play, we may tie the ballgame right then. And the very next batter hits a missile.”

Brooks was impressed by the play as well. 

“It wins us the game, for sure,” he said.

McHugh drilled Still’s 112^th pitch, but it went straight to centerfielder Mason Cullars for the final out.

Still fanned seven and walked four while allowing five hits — three to Johnson — to improve to 6-0 while Strandmark struck out 11 and walked two while surrendering five hits in the loss.

“We tell our guys, ‘just give me everything you got,’ and I thought we did that,” Brooke said. “We battled and we competed, and they were gutsy.”

The Vikings host the Trojans for the second game of the season series Thursday, after The Melody goes to print.