Pirates topple the Leopards

By Seth Hudson

The Pittsburg Pirates boys’ varsity baseball team had a Good Friday indeed last week against Liberty-Eylau, bouncing back from a loss earlier in the week to Paris. The ballgame was called in the sixth inning after Garrett Truitt knocked Caleb Massey across home plate putting the Pirates up 12-2.  
Truitt pitched five innings striking out seven and allowing only 2 runs. The four innings he and the Pirates shut out Liberty-Eylau were accentuated with golden glove performances from Zack de Luna at short stop and Cody Perry at second. Perry had an amazing diving catch in the third inning that robbed the Leopards of a base hit, and de Luna protected his end of the diamond with incredible finesse and technique. Truitt also held the mound fielding some well hit grounders.
Offensively, Pittsburg did most of their work in the second and third innings. Perry started the second inning rally with a base hit and was bunted in by Trace Burns. Brian Taylor walked and was knocked in by right fielder Caleb Banks with a sacrifice fly. De Luna got a hit and then Charlie Mitchell hit his first of 5 RBI’s that afternoon before the Leopards finally retired the side, and the Pirates were up 4-0.
Perry got the ball rolling again in the third inning with a base hit, and Taylor knocked him in with an RBI double. Shawn Albright reached first after being hit by a pitch, and Banks had his second RBI, this time with a single that scored Taylor. De Luna then knocked Albright in with a base hit that was stretched into a double with an error. With two on and two out, Mitchell drove a base hit into the outfield that scored both Banks and de Luna.  After a 5-run inning, the Pirates now had the lead 9-0.
Truitt took care of the top of the fourth with three consecutive strikeouts, and the Pirates left two runners on and were unable to score. The Leopards were able to score twice in the fifth inning, but after de Luna and Truitt reached base and were in scoring position, Mitchell bombed a 2-run double into center field making the score 11-2, Pirates.  
In the sixth inning, Mitchell relieved Truitt on the mound with a couple of strikeouts and de Luna’s big glove at short stop. Caleb Massey started the bottom of the inning with a good eye, reaching first base with a walk. De Luna had another base hit, and Truitt sailed one past the right fielder for an RBI that would have scored both runners, putting Pittsburg up by 10 runs and thus ending the game.  
The Pirates are now 2-1 in District play. They hit the road for the next two games, facing Pleasant Grove April 2 and North Lamar April 9, then return to Pittsburg April 12 for a re-match against Paris.