Franklinton broke a 3-3 tie with three runs in the final inning in a 6-4 win over Bogalusa in a summer baseball game at BHS on Tuesday afternoon.
The game was tied at 3-3 through four innings, as the game was on a time limit.
With time getting short, it looked like the fifth inning would be the final frame and it was.
Jake Bracey was hit by a pitch to begin the fifth. Following the first out, Jalen Burkhalter reached on a throwing error and moved up to third when the peg to second was low and into left field. Courtesy runner D.J. Corkern scored to put the Demons in front, 4-3. After the second out, Chase Penton hit a ball down the third-baseline for an infield single. Burkhalter scored for a 5-3 game. Pinch runner Bracey stole second, went to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch and it was 6-3.
Bogalusa came back with a run in the bottom of the frame.
Tyrese Rousell began a one-out rally by tripling to right centerfield. He scored two batters later when Talik Williams singled between the first baseman, second baseman and right fielder, trimming the lead to 6-4.
Franklinton scored the game’s first two runs with single tallies in the first and second inning.
Landon Keller opened the game with a single to center. Keller stole second and scored with two outs when Penton singled just over the second baseman’s head, plating the game’s first run.
A.J. Magee started the third inning with a walk. He stole second. He then went to third on a throwing error from a pickoff attempt, but the centerfielder bobbled the ball and Magee scored and the Demons were ahead, 2-0.
Bogalusa scored the next three runs with one in the second and two more in the third.
Jarvis Dawson led off the second inning with a double. After the first two outs, Tajdryn Forbes was hit. Pinch runner Aquinas Robertson stole second and Dawson scored on the play to make it 2-1.
Rousell got the next inning started with a double. Josh Taylor recorded an infield single, moving Rousell to third. Taylor stole second, but Rousell scored on the play on an errant throw from a back pick and the game was tied at 2-2. Taylor gave the Lumberjacks a 3-2 lead when he scored on a wild pitch.
Franklinton tied the game in the fourth inning.
Garrett Maxwell walked, stole second and went to third on an error before tallying the tying run when Magee put down a safety squeeze and the game was even at 3-3 through four innings.
The Demons outscored Bogalusa, 3-1, in the final inning for the 6-4 win.
Summer baseball is a time for teams to improve and prepare for the upcoming season.
“We threw five guys,” Franklinton coach Jeff Tageant said. “During the summer, we don’t really worry too much about the score. We get in situations in tight games, we’ll try to sacrifice bunt or do different things like that, but we’re just trying to put kids in different situations. During the summer, we can put kids at positions they don’t normally play just to see how they do playing it like outfield, infield. A lot of pitchers that get their first shot in the summer, so it’s always good for us.”
Tageant talked about what he saw from his team on Tuesday.
“I didn’t think we had very good approaches at the plate. We missed a lot of signs and we have it as simple as can be, so it’s just some things we can work on hopefully two or three games in the summer will get rid of all of those miscues,” Tageant said.
Bogalusa coach Michael Cummings the reason they do this is to keep the players active and get better for next year.
“They got some good work in. Everybody played and we saw the parts that we need to improve on and that’s the whole point of it. So, we take what we did here and that’s what we learn at practice to fix,” Cummings said.”
Cummings talked about what he saw from his team.
“We made a couple of mistakes, especially on our pickoff moves. That hurt us a lot. Knowing what we have to do before the ball gets to us, that’s something else we’ve got to work on, so I mean, it’s things we can fix. That’s a big positive that it can be fixed, we’ve just got to put the work in,” Cumming said.