Balk it off: Tiftarea wins 15-0 over Fullington
Mar. 15—CHULA — Walk-off wins happen all the time in baseball. A balk-off, however, does not happen every day.
Harrison Powell trotted home Thursday for Tiftarea Academy's unusual way of ending a mercy rule against Fullington Academy, though maybe not that unusual for head coach Chance Benson.
Benson said it was the second balk-off he's experienced.
Tiftarea won 15-0 in four innings over Fullington. in a battle of young teams, the Panthers left no doubt. They scored four in the 1st, four in the 2nd and came close to ending it in the 3rd after scoring six.
Only eight of the 15 runs had an RBI attached to them. Wild pitches and other miscues provided the rest. Six Panthers walked and five more were hit by pitches.
John Jackson, Winston Lamb and Lane Cole all reached to begin the day. Jackson, who walked, scored during Lamb's at-bat after he stole second, then came home no a pair of wild pitches. Landon Clark, running for Lamb, also scored on a wild pitch.
Dawson Butler singled in Cole. A double steal that also involved Ridley Monk, resulted in a throwing error and Butler coming home.
Eli Stevens, hit by a pitch to begin the 2nd, became run No. 5 on a single by Lamb.
Cole and Asher Box were plunked in back-to-back at-bats, the latter with the bases loaded, scoring Jackson.
A fielder's choice by Butler brought in Clark and Cole made it 8-0 on another wild pitch.
Parks Colwell, Stevens, Jackson, Cole, Cox and Butler were the 3rd inning tallies. The big blow was a bases loaded triple by Monk, which cleared the bases.
Monk was at third with two outs, but Fullington made the game go one inning longer.
Eli Hannah threw the first three frames, with John Jackson finishing it up on the hill. Balk-offs may not be unique for Benson, but brother batteries are — Reed Jackson caught his older brother, John.
Powell walked in the 4th, moving over two bases on wild pitches before the balk ended the evening.
Nearly every player in a Panthers uniform played. "We have a lot of depth," Benson said.
Tiftarea is set to return to its Region 3-AAA schedule Friday, taking on Valwood.
