South Pittsburg's Hunter Giles delivers and goes seven innings in a 5-0 shutout Monday at Lookout Valley.The first goal for any prep baseball team is to claim its regular-season district championship. For South Pittsburg to achieve that, it would also need to beat perennial district power Lookout Valley, something the Pirates hadn't done since 2000.
But in a game between the last two unbeaten teams in District 6-A, the Pirates took advantage of each hit and Yellow Jackets error and rode the left arm of senior Hunter Giles to a 5-0 victory Monday.
"I told the kids to keep this win in perspective because it's just a regular-season win," Pirates coach Wesley Stone said. "In the big picture it doesn't mean more than any other game, but this was a pretty big deal for our kids to come over here and win.
"Lookout Valley is the measuring stick for Class A baseball in Chattanooga, so hopefully this will inspire our kids to continue to play the way we're capable and prove something."
Neither team had an extra-base hit and Giles drove in the Pirates' first run with a single in the third. The Pirates (16-2, 6-0) stretched their advantage with three more in the fifth, coming on RBI singles by Jake Stone and Cam Moss and on a throwing error.
"They are by far the class of our district," Yellow Jackets coach David Dinger said. "They're solid from one to nine in the lineup, have good pitching and don't beat themselves. That's all part of what makes you a quality team.
"We killed ourselves today, too. The five runs we gave up, we could've stopped all of them if we just make the routine plays."
Giles (5-0) struggled at times, walking three and hitting another batter, but also struck out six and allowed just three hits. Pirates leadoff hitter Matt Allen was 2-for-2 with two bunt singles, and he stole a base and scored three runs.
"I think it's my job to get on base every time up," Allen said. "I expect to get on, steal a base and score a run every time I come up.
"They're always the top dog in the district, so to come over here and beat them gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the district games."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.