JASPER, Tenn. – Twice pitcher Hunter Giles was met in the dugout by his coaches and told that he was being lifted from the game. Twice South Pittsburg’s senior left-hander refused to leave the mound, determined to finish regardless of the pitch count.
Giles threw 130 pitches, allowing three hits and striking out 15 batters, to help the Pirates remain unbeaten with a 10-5, eight-inning win over rival Marion County at Al Raffo Field.
“I could’ve thrown another seven innings if that’s what it took,” Giles said. “They tried to take me out, but there was no way I was coming out against Jasper. I had to finish the job.
“I was pitching mad at the end and just throwing harder and harder.”
The Pirates (8-0, 1-0) have gotten complete-game pitching performances in all eight games, with seven pitchers earning the wins.
After leaving a runner stranded at third base in each of the first two innings, the Pirates got two runs in the third on an RBI triple from Jake Stone and a single by Jacob Toney, then scored three in the fourth on Josh Parker’s first career home run and a two-run error by the Warriors.
Marion rallied to tie the game with four runs in the sixth, including Drew Ownby’s two-run single.
The Pirates retook the lead on Stone’s two-run single in the eighth, and Toney followed with a three-run triple.
“I thought our guys showed a lot of character to fight back the way they did,” said Pirates coach Wesley Stone, whose team has scored 10 or more runs in all but two games. “To mess around and let them tie it, on the road, and then rally back was big.
“Those last two innings, Hunter just willed us to win. That’s a senior realizing what a big spot it was and wanting the ball.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.