Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
MAN Cam Gerace allowed one hit in five innings and Jace Adkins drove in two runs, leading the Man Hillbillies to a 3-1 season-opening victory over the Westside Renegades in the first annual Guyandotte Wooden Bat Classic Saturday morning at William “Tootie” Carter Field.
Man was scheduled to face Sherman in the championship game Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Westside was set to take on Tug Valley in the consolation game at 4 p.m.
The Tide advanced to the championship game with a 6-0 victory over the Panthers in the second game.
Gerace (1-0) struck out six, walked three and allowed one unearned run while giving up just one hit, a single to Hayden Miller to lead off the sixth inning.
Following Miller’s single, Gerace walked Kevin Mitchell and was lifted for Bo Thompson. Alex Brunty laid down a sacrifice bunt moving runners to second and third and Kaiden Vance was intentionally walked to load the bases before Zach Short lined into a double play to end the Renegade sixth.
Thompson retired the Renegades in order in the seventh to earn his first save of the season. Thompson tossed two innings of hitless relief and struck out two.
The Renegades scratched across a run in the first inning as Mitchell scored on an error to take an early 1-0 lead.
Man would get all the runs it would need in the first inning and tack on an insurance run in the fifth.
Braxton Messer led off the bottom of the first for Man with a single and advanced to second base when Brayden Compton reached on error. Jace Adkins followed with a two-run triple to center field giving Man a 2-1 lead.
Thompson singled in the fifth to drive in Compton and give the Hillbillies a 3-1 lead.
Alex Brunty suffered the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. Brunty walked four and struck out three. Vance tossed 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief and struck out one for Westside.
Adkins had two hits including a triple and drove in two runs while Thompson added two hits and one RBI for the Hillbillies. Man also got hits from Gerace, Messer and Colton Miller.
Man 3, Westside 1
Westside 100 000 0- 0 1 1
Man 200 010 x- 3 7 2
Brunty, Vance (5) and Morgan. Gerace, Thompson (6) and Fraley. Top hitters- W: Miller 1-2; Mitchell 0-1, run. M: Adkins 2-3, triple, 2 RBI; Thompson 2-2, RBI; Gerace 1-3; Messer 1-4, run; Miller 1-2.
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