PHOTO | Boothe Davis: Captured by the Moment Photography
Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
LOGAN A six-run fourth inning lifted Independence past Logan Monday night in a battle of top ranked teams at Roger E. Gertz Field.
Independence, ranked No. 1 in Class AA, broke a 3-3 tie with six runs in the fourth and plated three more runs in the seventh to defeat Logan, ranked No. 2 in Class AA, 12-6.
Four Independence players; Carson Brown, Atticus Goodson, Andy Lester and Tanner Sipes; had multiple hits for the Patriots, who had 11 hits in the contest.
The Patriot quartet combined to go 9-for-14 with two double, a triple, nine RBIs and five runs scored.
Lester went 2-for-4 with a double and five RBIs and Brown was 2-for-2 with a triple, two RBIs and three runs. Goodson finished the evening 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, two RBIs and two runs while Spies was 2-for-3 at the dish.
Lester got Independence on the board in the third inning with a two-run double to plate Clay Basham and Goodson to give Independence a 2-0 lead. Brown would score on the throw giving the Patriots a 3-0 lead.
Logan plated three runs in the bottom of the third to knot the contest at 3. Jake Ramey started the Wildcat scoring with a double scoring Ryan Roberts to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Dawson Maynard followed with a single to plate Aiden Slack to make it 3-2 and Garrett Williamson’s double scored Maynard to tie the contest, 3-3, after three innings of play.
After Independence loaded the bases to begin the fourth, Basham singled to plate two runs giving the Patriots a 5-3 lead.
The top-ranked Patriots were not done as they plated four runs as Lester drove in a run with fielders’ choice groundout to make it 6-3.
Michael McKinney scored on a pass ball and Goodson’s two-run single gave the Patriots a 9-3 lead.
Logan would respond with two runs in the bottom of the fourth as Slack and Ramey produced RBI singles to close the gap to 9-5 after four.
Korin Bostic’s solo home run over the center field fence brought Logan within three, 9-6, after six innings.
It would be as close as the Wildcats would get as the Patriots plated three runs in the seventh. Brown had two-run triple in the frame and Lester singled to drive in his fifth run.
Bostic, Ramey and Roberts each had two hits for Logan. Ramey was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs while Bostic finished 2-for-3 with a triple, solo home run, one RBI and two runs. Roberts was 2-for-4 and scored once. Maynard, Slack and Williamson each had one hit and one RBI for the Wildcats.
Basham had one hit, two RBIs and scored twice for Independence who also got a hit from Elijah Farrington.
Michael McKinney picked up the win on the mound after allowing five runs on six hits while walking four and striking out two over 3 2/3 innings. Tanner Sipes earned the save after allowing one run on four hits, six strikeouts and one walk in 3 1/3 innings.
Jared Burnette suffered the loss for Logan after allowing six runs on two hits while walking four and striking out one over 1/3 innings of relief. Chad Burnette started for Logan and gave up six runs on two hits with two walks, three strikeouts and hit four batters in 2 2/3 innings. Ryan Roberts allowed three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in four innings.