Every hit the Ripley Tigers had on Thursday night against Pontotoc didn’t go for extra bases, it just felt that way.
Every pitch Tiger starter Tiger Ty Long made wasn’t a strikeout with runners in scoring position, it just felt that way.
Big hits and bit pitches carried the night and took the Tigers to a 1-0 series lead over long term rival Pontotoc with a 3-1 win. Ripley can close the series out on Friday with a win on the road and move on to the third round.
The Tigers got 8 hits on the night with half of them going for extra bases. Hayden Fortune took the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the first over the left field fence for a 1-0 lead and the Tigers never looked back, getting an electric night from freshman starter Ty Long and several key defensive plays to claim the victory.
Long, pitching beyond his years, say down 10 Warriors on strikeouts and scattered just 4 hits in the complete game. The lone Pontotoc run came on a Jon Carnes homerun in the top of the 6th, but Long would compose himself to get a pair of strikeouts to close out the inning.
Ripley freshman Ty Long gives up a homer to start the 6th. But he settles down and finishes the inning with a pair of K’s. Big time performance here against Pontotoc. 3-1 Ripley headed bottom 6 pic.twitter.com/5Z07YeYOz2
— Mississippi Sports (@SocialSportsMs) May 7, 2021
Ripley would get a triple from Jak Ketchum and a double from Drew Coombs and Reed Scott. with Ketchum, Fortune and Scott contributing multiple hits. Conner Graves would add an RBI single.
The Tigers travel to the Hollow in Pontotoc on Friday with an opportunity to advance to the third round of the 4A baseball playoffs.
More pictures on the Tippah County Sports Facebook page.
