By Brad Greer

Entering Tuesday night’s division game versus South Panola, Columbus starting pitcher Trace Lee sported a 1-3 record on the season. Looks however can be deceiving.

Lee, the younger brother of former Mississippi State quarterback Tyson Lee, struck out 13 on four hits as the Falcons handed South Panola its first Region 2-6A loss with a 13-2 six inning rout.

South Panola (9-5 overall, 2-1 district) did not help its cause as 12 walks by Tiger pitching coupled with five wild pitches led to their undoing.

Columbus (11-3, 2-1) scored two runs each in the first, second and fourth innings before a big six-run sixth put the game away.

The two squads met again last night in Columbus for the second of three meetings on the season.

Columbus wasted little time getting on the board in the first inning as the first five batters reach base off Tiger starting pitcher Hunter Ivy.

Cleanup hitter Greg Sykes singled between shortstop and third to score Jimmy Cockrell for the first Falcon run. Hunter Mullis then reached on a fielders’ choice which drove in Christian Dale for a 2-0 Falcon lead. Ivy escaped further damage by striking out the side.

Two singles, a walk and one throwing error increased the Falcon lead to 4-0 in the second before South Panola scratched across an unearned run in the bottom of the frame as Will Daugherty reached on an error, stole second before continuing to third on a throwing error then scored on Preston Blair’s groundout.

The Falcons tacked on two more runs in the fourth for a 6-1 lead as Cockrell’s one-out triple followed by RBI singles from Dale and Sykes highlighted the inning.

Logan Shackleford led off the Columbus fifth inning with a single and later scored on a pair of wild pitches, upping the lead to 7-1. Tays Hardy accounted for South Panola’s final run in the fifth with a two-out RBI single that scored Blair.

Columbus took advantage of six walks by Tiger pitching to send 12 batters to the plate in a six-run sixth inning  for the final margin of victory.

South Panola managed four hits on the night as Landon Fullilove, Hardy, Chance Whitten and Lane Massey recorded singles. Dale led Columbus at the plate with three singles and three runs scored.

Ivy (4-3) took the loss on the hill as the junior righty surrendered seven runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out five in 4.1 innings.

Whitten followed with one inning, allowing six runs on three hits and walking five batters before Massey took to the mound and walked all three batters he faced. Daughtery ended the night by tossing .2 innings.

Jr. Varsity
In junior varsity play, Columbus came away with a 5-3 victory despite being out-hit 6-1 by the Tigers.
 
Jesse Pearson led South Panola at the dish with a triple and single. Matthew Williams, Houston Boothe, Tristan Tutor and Gage Aldison registered singles.

Adam Cook, Pearson, Carter Avan and Tyler Tubbs all pitched one inning for South Panola.