Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

COLUMBUS – The good times continued for the Troup Tigers, who jumped into their Region 2-AAAA schedule with an 18-2 road win over Hardaway on Monday afternoon.

The Tigers won for the 10th time in 11 games and improved to 11-2 while beginning the all-important region schedule with a victory.

“I feel really good about where we are, and it’s nice to get the first region win,” said Troup head coach Tanner Glisson. “It’s hard to complain with 1-0 in the region and 11-2 overall.”

Troup will host Hardaway on Wednesday before continuing its region schedule against Columbus on March 19.

“We’ve got a good baseball team,” Glisson said. “I don’t know how good we are yet, that’s still to be determined, but we’re a good team, and we’ve got to keep pounding.”

Monday’s game was shortened to four innings because of the run rule, and the Tigers finished with 12 hits, and everyone in the lineup contributed.

Cleanup hitter Josh McDonald did a lot of the damage with two hits with a double and five RBIs, and Trey Mosley had two hits with a double and two RBIs.

Devon Murphy added two hits and an RBI, and Mason Atkinson had two hits.

Reed Morris had a hit and two RBIs, leadoff hitter Ethan Morton had a hit and an RBI with three runs scored, Brett Haynes had a double and two RBIs, Nick Philpot had hit and an RBI, and Daniel Martin walked and scored a run.

As has been the case so often this season, it was a trio of sophomores who helped lead the way offensively.Murphy, Morris and McDonald have been consistent hitters this season, and they combined for five hits and eight RBIs against Hardaway.

“In our lineup, our two, three and four hitters are all sophomores,” Glisson said. “That’s a good thing with Devon, Reed and Josh all sitting there in the middle of the lineup. Josh has done really well, and he’s played really good defense. That won’t show up in the box score, but he’s played really good defense.”

Daniel Martin pitched the four-inning complete game for Troup, and he allowed six hits and one earned run while striking out six batters.

SATURDAY’S GAME:  The Troup Tigers headed into region play with a 10-0 home win over Hampton in a game that ended after five innings because of the run rule.

Ethan Morton was Troup’s starting pitcher, and he had his way with Hampton’s hitters, throwing 4 1/3 shutout innings while giving up just one hit while striking out six.

Rocky Pemberton got the final two outs, both on strikeouts.

The Tigers finished with nine hits, and Reed Morris led the way with three doubles and an RBI.

Tre Mosley had two hits with a double while driving in four runs, and Josh McDonald added two hits with an RBI while scoring three runs.

Colton Webb had a double and two RBIs, and Brett Haynes had a hit.