Pierce County Middle School’s 8th-grade baseball team rolled to an opening 15-0 Southeast Georgia Middle School Conference “mercy rule” victory here Thursday over Bethune Middle.
The conference tilt was the only game of the week for the Bears (5-2) and followed three games in the Dublin Middle School tournament Saturday, February 7.
The 8th-grade Bears fell 5-4 to Johnson County Middle School, beat T.J. Elder Middle School of Sandersville 18-2 and lost 3-1 to Swainsboro Middle School.
Johnson Co. Middle .5 Bears .......................4
DUBLIN — Single runs in the second and third innings broke a 3-all tie helping the Trojans to the win.
Jack Jameson went 3for-3 with two triples and two RBI. James Gruver (RBI) and Spencer Taylor recorded PCMS’s other two hits.
Drew Stipe (two strikeouts, two walks, hit batter), Asher Strickland and Colton McCook (six strikeouts, two walks, two HBP) worked from the mound.
Bears......................18 T.J. Elder .................2
DUBLIN — Back-toback seven-run uprisings aided PCMS’s victory.
Jameson (3-for-3, five ribbies) ripped a triple and homered, his second of the year. Gruver (double) and Taylor (homer) each went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs.
Jacob Waters (double, triple) went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Matthew Herring (RBI) and McCook (two RBI) added a hit apiece.
Stipe fanned six over 3.2 innings with a walk and hit batter. He allowed two hits.
Swainsboro Middle..3 Bears........................1
DUBLIN — The Tigers made a three-run second inning stand in beating PCMS.
Jameson (triple) went 2-for-3 with a ribbie to lead the five-hit attack. McCoy Howard, Gruver and Waters each recorded a base hit.
Jameson (seven strikeouts, four walks) and Colton O’Berry (three Ks, walk) combined on a twohitter.
Bears......................15 Bethune........0, 3 Inn.
BEARVILLE — Pierce Middle scored in each of its three trips to the plate to beat the Braves.
Stipe worked all three innings needing just 31 pitches to silence Bethune Middle’s bats. He recorded three strikeouts and allowed two hits.
The Bears scored four runs in the first, three in the second and eight in the third ending the game with two outs.
Jacob Gruver (double, three stolen bases) and James Gruver (double, two RBI, stolen base) paced the seven-hit attack with two base hits apiece. Jameson (double, three ribbies), O’Berry (double, two RBI) and Strickland (RBI, two stolen bases) had a hit each.
PCMS recorded 10 stolen bases.
