By Johnny Wilson
BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan North ran out to a big lead and Sullivan Central ran out of time Thursday, when the 40-year natural rivals met on the baseball diamond for one last slugfest.
Fortunately for visiting North, an early 10-run advantage provided just enough cushion to help the Golden Raiders claim a 14-11 non-conference win over the error-plagued Cougars.
North and Central will merge with Sullivan South in August to form West Ridge High School.
“I went to school at North, so it was good to play them one last time,” said seventh-year Central coach Clay Colley. “It’s been a really good rivalry for a long time and I hate to see it end.
“I also hate to not come out on the winning side today. But when you commit 10 errors and give up five unearned runs, you can’t expect to win no matter how many runs you put up.”
Steve Dixon was certainly glad to see his Raiders assume their early advantage.
“We have a tendency to keep things exciting,” North’s 18-year mentor said. “We’ve blown a couple leads in the bottom of the seventh this year, so I was happy we closed this one out.”
OUT OF THE GATES
North (6-10) was quick to gain command of this one, scoring seven runs and chasing Central starter Hunter Stanley after just two innings. Chandler Raleigh had a single and a double to plate three early runs, while Jonah Leslie and Brayden Ketron both delivered RBI-singles.
Nathaniel Mullins pitched a scoreless third inning for Central (4-14), but three errors helped the Raiders tally four times in the top of the fourth to produce a seemingly comfortable 11-1 lead.
North continually put the ball in play, collecting 10 base knocks to match Central’s 10 miscues.
“Oh yeah, we hit the ball,” Dixon said. “That’s probably the best we’ve hit it all year.”
Raleigh had three hits and the three RBIs, while Ketron finished with three hits and plated a pair. Leslie drove in two runs and scored four times and reached base on five occasions. Tyler DePriest also reached five times, collecting two hits along the way.
COUGARS RALLY
Central inched its way back against Leslie, a senior right-hander who got the win after covering 6 2/3 innings, eventually giving way to Seth Davis after reaching the 120-pitch-count limit.
A senior right-hander, Leslie struck out nine batters and walked just one.
“Anytime we have Jonah pitching, we’re going to be in the game,” Dixon said.
Nonetheless, the Cougars knocked it around themselves, scoring twice in the bottom of the fourth and three times in the fifth to make it a 12-6 game with two frames yet to play.
“We’ve been hitting the ball a lot better, going back about three weeks,” Colley said.
Central, which banged out 13 hits, rallied in the seventh inning, scoring four more runs off Leslie and another off Davis, who allowed an infield single and three straight walks before inducing a comebacker to end the game with the bases loaded.
Preston Staubus led the Cougars offensively with a double and a single and two RBIs, while Stanley also had two hits and knocked in a pair. Logan Bowers fashioned with three hits and an RBI. Jacob Bombailey managed two hits and an RBI for Central, as did Jacob Wise.
