RINGGOLD, Ga. — Under normal circumstances a baseball game played in 30-degree wind-chill conditions would have been an unenjoyable situation.
For Ringgold and Gordon Lee, however, Friday’s game was pure joy after inclement weather had caused numerous postponements in the past two weeks. Ringgold’s Tigers, following the 4-3 eight-inning win, were thrilled to get their first victory after four road losses, while the Trojans were just happy to get on the field after their first five games were postponed.
“Hey, we’re not inside hitting off a tee or doing drills,” said a happy Ringgold coach Brent Tucker. “Both teams were on the field where we need to be, and both teams got better because of it. It just feels good to be playing baseball and to get in the win column.”
The Tigers braved even colder temps after dispatching the Trojans, losing 10-1 against Catoosa County rival Heritage, which also was making its season debut.
Junior Jacob Justice ended the first game with an RBI double in the eighth, scoring Ethan Dalton from second. The Trojans had tied the game at 3 with two runs in the seventh on Sean Coakley’s double and Chaney Rogers’ RBI groundout. Ringgold senior Zach Morris, who pitched seven innings, escaped further trouble by stranding three runners.
“This is Zach’s third time out and I told him and (game two starting pitcher) Devin Lancaster that if you keep it under 100 pitches I’m going to leave it in your hands, and he pitched a great game,” Tucker said. “They’ve got a great team and they’re not going to just sit down. Zach got a big out with the bases loaded against a great hitter, but they were able to get the run in. We take that right there.”
Morris limited the Trojans to three hits, two of them coming in the seventh. He allowed one baserunner in the first four innings and did not give up a hit until Coakley’s RBI double in the fifth following an error. Ringgold scored single runs in the first, third and fifth innings, two of them unearned.
The Trojans sent eight batters to the plate in the seventh in tying the game, but after a one-two-three bottom of the seventh against Gordon Lee reliever Will Goodman, Dalton and Justice had back-to-back doubles in the eighth to end it.
“It was a 3-2 count and I was waiting on a fastball,” said Justice, who plated the game’s first run with a two-out single in the first inning. “I felt in my mind I was going to get a hit. It feels great to get that first win, and to do it with a walk-off hit makes it even better.”
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.