Hitters come alive in Saturday scrimmage

After the pitchers took control of Friday’s scrimmage, it was the hitters who starred Saturday morning.

Adam Hill and Cody Morris both took the mound for the 7-inning scrimmage and made quick work of the first inning.

In his third collegiate appearance ever, Morris allowed a run in the first and second innings. Both runs were scored when TJ Hopkins stole third base and catcher Hunter Taylor misfired, allowing Hopkins to trot home.

Hill blew threw the top of the Black team’s order in the first, working a perfect frame. He allowed a run on a Chase DeMars groundout in the second before getting roughed up in the third inning.

After getting a strikeout, Hill hit Danny Blair before giving up back-to-back home runs to LT Tolbert and Carlos Cortes. It was Cortes’s first homer in fall scrimmages and gave the Black team a 4-2 lead.

Black would tack on two more runs after a Matt Williams double drove in Hunter Taylor and Chris Cullen singled to drive in Williams.

Also see: Texas A&M Final News and Notes

Williams, Cortes and DeMars would all switch positions in-game. Williams played both corner infield spots while Cortes played left field and middle infield. DeMars transitioned from left field to third base.

Justin Row would leave the game in the top of the seventh and would not return.

Hill was pulled after 2 .2 innings. He gave up six runs on seven hits, all earned, while striking out four. Morris finished after three innings where he gave up two unearned runs and struck out three.

Tolbert would homer again in the fourth inning, driving in three and giving Black a commanding 9-2 lead. He would finish 2-for-3 with two home runs and five RBIs.

Jonah Bride continued to shine at third base Saturday, making a diving stab and throw in the fourth inning before a leaping grab on a hotshot to end the fifth. Bride would finish 1-for-3 with a double.

Also see: Friday's Carolina Confidential

The Garnet team would run into trouble in the sixth inning with a two-on, one out jam. Jonathan Jahn came in for Bridges and walked Cortes to load the bases before getting Taylor to weakly ground out into a 1-2-3 double play.

Jacob Olson would cut into the Black lead in the sixth, doubling home Madison Stokes to make it 9-3. Stokes, who played shortstop all scrimmage, finished 1-for-2 with a run scored.

DeMars would add some insurance in the seventh, plating three more runs, and Dillon Hodge would come in for the Black and close out the game, coasting to a 12-3 win.

The third weekend of scrimmages finished Sunday with the game scheduled for 7 p.m.

Also see: Josh Low's weekly thoughts

Starting lineups

Garnet

SP, Adam Hill; C John Jones; 1B, Joey Polak; 2B, Justin Row; 3B, Jonah Bride; SS, Madison Stokes; LF, Alex Destino; CF, TJ Hopkins; RF, Jacob Olson

Black

SP, Cody Morris; C, Hunter Taylor; 1B, Ross Grosvenor; 2B, Carlos Cortes; 3B, Matt Williams; SS, LT Tolbert; LF, Chase DeMars; CF, Danny Blair; RF, Josh Gregory

Pitching lines

Garnet

Adam Hill: 2.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R (6 ER), 0 BB, 4 K, HP

Sawyer Bridges: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, HP

Jonathan Jahn: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1 HP

Black

Cody Morris: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 3 K

Colby Lee: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (ER), 3 BB, 1 K, WP, HP

Dillon Hodge: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Top offensive performers

Danny Blair: 2-3, 2 R; LT Tolbert: 2-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI; Hunter Taylor: 3-4, 2 2B, 2 R; Matt Williams: 3-4, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Chris Cullen: 2-4, R, 2 RBI