B&B Oil advances after downing Paragould 10-4
PARAGOULD – After looking for a big inning for a little over a week, coach Brett Burton got what he thought the team needed as a six-run seventh propelled B&B Oil past host team Paragould in the American Legion Class A State tournament.
B&B Oil got on the scoreboard to start the game as Jared Haggard led off the game with a walk. After starting pitcher Tanner Ball was hit by a pitch, Hayden Mercer was walked to load the bases. With Haggard third base, Josh Spears hit a sacrifice fly into left field to score the go-ahead run.
After Paragould tied the game up in the bottom of the third inning, B&B Oil responded in the top of the fourth as Jordan Johnston hit a solo home run to break the tie. Two more runs would come across for B&B Oil while Paragould added another to their tally to put the score at 4-2 going into the top of the seventh inning.
Once there, the offensive floodgates broke open and B&B Oil took advantage. After Zach Fagan boarded with a lead-off single, Haggard followed with a single of his own. Ball doubled, scoring Fagan as Haggard moved to third base. Mercer kept the hits going for B&B Oil with a single to score Haggard and move Ball to third.
Not through, Bryson Scott lined a two-run double into right field to score Ball and Mercer, followed by Johnston and Lindsey walking to load the bases again. With the bases loaded and no outs, Bunker singled to drive in Scott and Johnston to give B&B Oil the 10-2 lead.
Paragould would strike for two more runs in the bottom of the seventh but could not muster any more as Spears came to the mound to shut the door for the B&B victory.
On the mound, Ball pitched five strong innings, allowing two runs on one hit while striking out four. According to Burton, Ball’s performance was exactly what the team needed.
“Tanner did an excellent job out there,” Burton said. “He did what he needed to do and threw the ball where he wanted to put it. He was not afraid to go after their batters and had a good breaking ball to go along with a straight change-up.”
As for the team’s play at the plate, Burton said the six-run seventh was just what he was hoping for.
“It was a really big inning for us,” Burton said. “We’ve been looking for that kind off inning for a week against a very good team. Paragould is a really good program which is well coached.”
Mark Haney
The Daily Citizen
