By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Troup Tigers closed their stay in the Perfect Game Showcase in Hoover, Ala. with a hard-fought 2-1 loss to Sumrall (Miss.) on Saturday.

Sumrall, which was coming off a 13-0 victory over St. Pius X on Friday, was handcuffed by Troup pitcher Carson Garner.

Garner, a freshman, pitched five innings, and he held Sumrall to two hits and one earned run.

Caleb McCurry pitched the sixth inning, and he worked around a hit to hold Sumrall scoreless.

While Troup had one more hit than Sumrall, it was only able to put one run on the scoreboard.

Trailing 2-0, Troup scored its run in the sixth inning when Cade Garner scored on an error.

Garner led off the inning with a walk, and after moving to second on a wild pitch, he made it to third when Trace Meadows reached on a bunt.

Meadows, Cooper Doughman, Colby Williams and Luke Purnell each had a hit, and Cade Garner walked twice and scored a run.

That was the fourth and final game for Troup in a tournament that featured an elite 24-team field.

In its opening game, Troup lost 2-0 to an IMG Academy team that was ranked first in the country according to the USA Today preseason poll.

Colby Williams started and pitched four innings in that game, and he handcuffed IMG’s batters.

Williams gave up one hit and an unearned run, and he had eight strikeouts.

Carson Garner and Daniel Martin also did a terrific job on the mound, giving up a combined one hit and one run in three innings.

In Troup’s second game, it beat Coffee County 3-2 in eight innings.

Once again, Troup’s pitching was superb.

Jackson Knox started and pitched four innings, and he allowed one unearned run on two hits while striking out four.

Martin made his second appearance of the tournament, and he went four innings and gave up one run on three hits, and he was the winning pitcher.

Ethan Morton and Caleb McCurry each had a hit and an RBI, and Williams, Meadows, Doughman and Cade Garner had one hit apiece.

After finishing pool play, Troup’s next opponent was Winder-Barrow on Friday, and it was a tough game.

Winder-Barrow scored seven runs in the first two innings, and it rolled to an 11-1 win.

The Tigers did have seven hits, with Cade Garner and Carson Garner leading the way with two hits apiece.

Meadows, Doughman and McCurry each had one hit.

Troup plays two games this week before opening its Region 5-AAAA schedule next week. Troup visits Central-Phenix City on Tuesday and hosts Woodward Academy on Thursday.

Troup, which has won outright or shared the region championship for three consecutive years, begins region play on March 18 at Central-Carroll.