Late inning rallies by the Bainbridge High School Bearcats baseball team fell short Monday and the Lee County High School Trojans used an early 6-1 cushion to hang on for a 7-4 victory.

In the bottom of the first, BHS third baseman Blake Voyles’ RBI single to left drove in shortstop Steven Bench who led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch.

The big scoring inning for the Trojans was the top of the second, when they rallied for six runs.

Designated hitter Justin Walker led off the Trojans second with an infield single. First baseman Ryan Horne then walked on a 3-2 pitch, moving Walker to second.

After a bunt single by second baseman Jimmy Shiver loaded the bases, Bearcats left hander Marty Anderson bore down to retire the next two batters.

He struck out right fielder Luke Roland swinging then got shortstop Chase Patrick to ground to third, where Volyes fielded it and fired home, forcing Walker at the plate for the second out.

Left fielder Pedro Cruz followed with a single to right, driving in Horne and Shiver and putting the Trojans out front 2-1.
Lee County third baseman Daniel Nichols doubled driving in Patrick with the third run of the inning. Catcher Chase Griffin then hit a three-run homer over the right field wall putting the Trojans ahead 6-1. Scoring ahead of him were Cruz and Nichols.

The Bearcats bounced back with two in the bottom of the second to cut the Trojans’ lead to 6-3.

Center fielder Stephen Lightfoot started the rally with a single to left. He went to second when shortstop Steven Bench followed with an infield single to first.

Third baseman Blake Voyles walked to load the bases. An errant pickoff attempt to first enabled Lightfoot to score. Bench came in with the Bearcats’ third run on an RBI single to center by catcher Drew Kelley.

The Bearcats added a run in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Trojans’ lead to 6-4. Designated hitter Jordan Cox led off the inning with a single to left. The next batter, left fielder Ryan Wade, was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second.
Bench’s one out infield single to third loaded the bases. Cox tagged up and came in to score on a sacrifice fly to center by Brandon Bates.

The score remained 6-4 until the top of the seventh when the Trojans pushed their final run across the plate.

Nichols opened the inning with a double to the right field wall. He went to third on a wild pitch and came in when Griffin grounded out from second to first.

The Bearcats, who were 5-7 overall following Tuesday’s loss, and 0-2 in Region 1AAAA South Sub-Region play, hosted the Hardaway High School Golden Hawks of Columbus Friday at Bearcat Field. On Monday, they will take on the Miller County High School Pirates at 5 p.m. in Colquitt.