Pioneers go 2 for 3 at Harrison

Defeat Kearney, Mo & Harrison; fall to Rogers

published Sunday, March 30, 2003

The Pioneers won 2 of 3 game played at the windy and cold Millbrook sports complex in Harrison on Fridy and Saturday. In the opener they were pitted against the largest 5A school in the state, the Rogers Mounaineers. While the scoring would go back and forth at the end the Mountaineers would defeat the Pioneers 8-7. 6 Pioneer errors would contribute greatly to this loss.

Saturday morning would bring cold weather and a strong Pioneer wind to the field. The Pioneers faced off against the Kearney, Mo. Bulldogs. The Pioneers added a victory winning 7-3 over Kearney, but more signifcantly they added 5 Home Runs to their stats for the year.

The final game of the Tournament was against the Harrison Golden Goblins or "Gobs" for short. Another game where the Pioneers struggled with errors but they managed to pull through with good hitting and defeat the Golden Gobs 7-5.

The Pioneers starting pitcher was Burba who hit the first Rogers batter, which would result in their first score of the day. The Pioneers would battle back in the bottom of the second when Fuqua hit a 3 run homer to bring the score to 3-1 Pioneers. Rogers rallied quickly in the 3rd when 3 Pioneer errors allowed 2 runs, tying the score. In the bottom of the Inning, Gatlin hits a solo home run to again take the lead. The top of the 5th sees the next score, when Rogers reaches on a double and eventually scores on a wild pitch, again tying the score 4-4. The 6th is a big inning for both teams with Rogers striking quickly with a lead off home run, followed by a runner reaching on a fielding error and another home run. Burba will be relieved by Rayford who will finish out the inning with no additional score. The Pioneers rally and again tie the score after a Burba single and Fletcher walk are scored by Fuqua on a double. He will in turn score on a Skinner double. The Mountaineers will score the winning run in the top of the 7th when a walk followed by a fielding error will advance a runner to 3rd where he will score on a fielder's choice. Starting Pitcher Burba pitched 5 innings and allowed 7 runs on 7 hits with 4 walks and 6 strikeouts. Reliever Rayford pitched 2 innings with 1 run on 0 hits with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Offensive leaders were: Gatlin - home run, single; Fuqua - home run, double; Skinner - 2 doubles.

Starter Gatlin lead off against the Bulldogs. The Dogs get on the board quickly after a single and an HP score on an outfield error. The Pioneers answer back in the bottom of the second with a Fuqua solo home run. The Pioneers take the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Fletcher walks and Fuqua again homer's to bring the score to 3-2 Pioneers. The Bulldogs hit a homer of their own in the top of the 5th to briefly tie the score. However, in the bottom of the inning,after Francis walks Smith and Fletcher hit back to back home runs to bring the score to 6-3 Batesville. The bottom of the sixth brings the last Pioneer score and home run of the day when Pioneer catcher hits a "routine pop-up" which happens to fall on the wrong side of the fence for Kearney, bringing the score to 7-3 Pioneers with 5 home runs in the game. Starting Pitcher Gatlin pitched 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 4 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. Reliever Rayford pitched 1 inning allowing 0 runs on 0 hits with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Offensive Leaders were: Smith - home run; Fletcher - home run; Fuqua - 2 home runs; Skinner - home run.