MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – One of the strengths that had helped South Pittsburg reach the Class A state baseball tournament – its defense – became its biggest weakness Wednesday and the reason the Pirates were eliminated with two losses.
South Pittsburg committed a total of 12 errors – including 10 in its first game of the day – in a 10-2 defeat by defending state champion Loretto and a 7-4 loss to Trinity Christian.
“I’m trying to remember the last time we booted just a routine ground ball, and I honestly can’t,” Pirates coach Brian Paris said. “But we definitely made a season’s worth of mistakes today, and that cost us.”
After winning its state tournament opener on Tuesday, South Pittsburg’s error spree against Loretto (33-2) opened the door for three runs in the second inning and six in the fifth, after the Pirates had pulled within 4-2.
The Pirates (24-12) followed with two errors against Trinity Christian, and a 4-3 lead in the fifth turned into the three-run loss.