By HARVEY SIMPSON
Dispatch Sports Editor
ROCHELLE — Wilcox High’s Patriots turned to their personal concoction of “White-out” to erase an early 3-2 deficit and go on to beat Wheeler County 9-5 in their 2010 baseball opener Tuesday.
Trailing 3-2 in the top of the third, coach Tim Harris called on junior righthander Adam White to take the mound and when he did the results were sensational.
Striking out the first two batters he faced when brought on in relief in the fourth inning, whiffing the side in order in the fifth and then fanning two batters in each of the sixth and seventh frames, White held the visiting Bulldogs hitless and scoreless the rest of the day.
“Adam came in and just slammed the door shut as I don’t know that I’ve ever had a kid come on in relief and strike out nine of 11 batters,” said Harris after entering his 26th year of coaching Wilcox diamond participants.
“The other guys (Statham Sapp and Jordan McGlamory) we used on the mound, though, need to do a better job of getting the ball across the plate and I think they’ll do that as the season moves along.”
Before bringing on White, Wilcox had take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second when a Bulldog throwing error on a double steal by Allen Phillips and Tommy Fuller, who had both walked, scored one run and a Rod Lawson double plated another.
After Wheeler had scored three times in the top of the third, the Patriots answered with an identical production in their half of the frame that began with a lead-off solo homer into the right field corner by Nate Moorhouse. Landon Cook later belted a double that delivered Justin Harden, who had singled, and Phillips, who had reached on an error.
The visitors drew even in the top of the fourth only to see the home team close out its and the game’s scoring with four runs in the bottom of that inning,
Tay Porter launched that outburst with a triple to right center before scoring moments later when Moorhouse’s pop-up to short left was dropped.
Marcus Griffin later doubled in Moorhouse and Jared Cornell singled in Griffin before Harden’s fielder’s choice grounder got Cornell home.
“I thought we did a good job overall of plugging away in a game where both teams battled each other hard,” said Harris who also saw the Baby Patriots emerge victorious 11-4 in their debut.
Wilcox is tentatively scheduled to make its second start of the new season Tuesday at Dodge County.
Those two teams were initially slated to have squared off here this Friday but that meeting was postponed due to the threat of inclement weather and the Patriots’ desire to support their school’s boys basketball team that will be hosting Montgomery County at 7 p.m.
