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Riverdale baseball falls to Collierville in 10 innings




Bradley Pippin rounds third base to score one of his two runs for the Warriors against Collierville. WILL CARTER

Bradley Pippin rounds third base to score one of his two runs for the Warriors against Collierville. WILL CARTER

Opening the 2022 TSSAA Spring Fling with dramatics, the Riverdale Warriors mounted a comeback after the Collierville Dragons to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning Tuesday night, but the Warriors ultimately fell 6-4 in 10 innings.

With a Dragons runner on first base and one out in the top of the 10th inning, Riverdale coach Barry Messer elected to intentionally walk the next Dragons batter, putting runners on first and second. The next at-bat resulted in a double that scored the potential winning runs.

“That kid was 3-for-4 up to that point, and he had a good hit two innings before off the same pitcher,” Messer said. “The next guy only had one at-bat prior, and he was a lefty. We figured a left-on-left matchup was the best thing to do. Credit to him for getting the hit. You gotta tip your cap to him.”

Collierville started the game off hot, scoring three runs on four hits in the top of the first inning.

Riverdale bounced back in the bottom of the second inning with two runs of its own to bring it to a one-run ballgame. The Dragons scraped one more run across in the fourth inning, but the Warriors answered the bell again with two runs of their own to tie the game at 4-4.The scoring halted for both teams until the final inning.

Cade Hitson delivers a pitch in his start for Riverdale against Collierville on Tuesday night. WILL CARTER

Cade Hitson delivers a pitch in his start for Riverdale against Collierville on Tuesday night. WILL CARTER

“We did what we’ve done all year long – we battled back and competed,” Messer said. “We had them on the ropes in the last few innings, but tip your caps to them for getting out of some jams. It just came down to a big hit at the end.”

Riverdale will play in an elimination game Wednesday morning to decide the fate of their season.

Riverdale first baseman Bradley Pippin celebrates after scoring the first Riverdale run of the game against Collierville. WILL CARTER

Riverdale first baseman Bradley Pippin celebrates after scoring the first Riverdale run of the game against Collierville. WILL CARTER

Daniel Polanco hustles to home plate to score a run for the Warriors against Collierville. WILL CARTER

Daniel Polanco hustles to home plate to score a run for the Warriors against Collierville. WILL CARTER

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