Commodores straighten up to beat Pontotoc

PONTOTOC – Neither team played its best, but the visitors were a bit more buttoned up.

No. 4 Lafayette took advantage of walks, played strong defense and got a quality start from Tanner Harris to beat Pontotoc 6-4 in eight innings on Tuesday night in The Hollow.

"Tanner is still trying to find his best stuff. His (velocity) is still a little down. He's still in kind of a recovery mode and still building his pitch count," Commodores coach John Walker said. "He was really, really good tonight, and the defense behind him was exceptional."

Even with his start, Pontotoc (15-11-1, 6-3 Region 1-5A) was able to erase a three-run deficit, tie the game and force extras. The Commodores (16-8, 7-2) loaded the bases in the top half and took a two-run lead on two walks.

Pontotoc's pitchers issued 13 walks.

"We kind of just lost our rhythm on the mound at times, trying to execute pitches," Pontotoc coach J.D. Poss said. "Lafayette does a good job of taking the balls that are out of the zone and really making you throw strikes and go at them."

R.T. Winters retired all three of his hitters in the bottom of the eighth. He got his last out by charging off the mound, making a barehand play and throwing to first for the final out.

Lafayette did not have a hit until the top of the fourth, when Levi Hamm knocked a two-out one-run single with two outs. Chayton Johnson countered with an infield single in the bottom half to tie it up.

Miller Finn walked in a run in the fifth, then walked in two more in the sixth to make it 4-1 Commodores.

John Scott Wilson got the Warriors within one on a two-run homer. Harris then walked his first batter of the seventh before being pulled. The runner got to third with two outs, then scored on a single by Cayson Witcher that grazed the top of the second baseman's glove.

Harris went six-plus innings, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out eight and walking one on 103 pitches.

"I had the fastball working for me good. We were going inside and out with it," Harris said. "The curveball, it had its it has moments here and there. There were times when it was not good, and I kind of lost it towards the end. But yeah, it was working pretty good for us."

Extra Bases

Big Inning: A single and two walks loaded the bases in the top of the eighth.

Big Stat: Five of Lafayette's six runs came on bases-loaded walks.

Coach Speak: "This really doesn't mean anything for us if we don't figure out how to win on Friday. We're still chasing a home playoff series, or a top two seed, and we can't get that, I don't think, if we don't win on Friday." – Walker

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