Patriots topple Tigers in non-region tussle

Evan Sanders had three hits including a double and one RBI in the Tigers' loss to Heritage-Conyers on Saturday.

The Adairsville Tigers outhit visiting Heritage-Conyers Saturday in a non-region matchup, but the Patriots scored seven runs across the final two innings to leave with a 13-10 win.

The high-scoring contest saw five lead changes overall and Adairsville take a 5-4 lead after just one inning. Heritage went back ahead in the top of the second 6-5 but the Tigers pushed across single runs in the second and third innings to lead 7-6.

Both teams went scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings before the Patriots went up 9-7 in the sixth. The Tigers cut the lead to 9-8 in the bottom of the sixth but four runs by Heritage in the top of the seventh gave the visitors a commanding 13-8 advantage.

Adairsville scored two more times in the bottom of the seventh but got no closer.

Jack Nelson (1 IP, 3ER, 3H, 2BB) worked the decisive sixth inning on the mound and was tagged with the pitching loss for the Tigers. Jack Whitley (1 IP, 4R, 0ER, 0H, 1BB, 2K), Grayson Belcher (1 IP, 2ER, 2H, 2BB, 1K), Kaiden Coker (3 IP, 0R, 2H, 2BB, 3K), and Jarrett Scott (1 IP, 4R, 1ER, 2H, 1BB) also pitched for Adairsville.

Chris Roper finished with four hits including a double and one RBI for the Tigers’ offense. Evan Sanders had three hits including a double and one RBI. Tyler Driggers contributed two hits including a home run and three RBIs. Peyton Bowen also had two hits with one RBI. Easton Elrod (two RBIs) and Scott added one hit each. Landon O’Neal drove in a run along with Braxton Ryan who tossed in a sacrifice fly.

Heritage-Conyers, a member of Region 8-5A, improved to 4-10 on the year.

Adairsville (6-6) begins Region 6-AAA action Tuesday at Ridgeland.