COURTLAND
Playing in the friendly shadows of their own high school for the first time in nearly a month, the Southampton Indians downed the Sussex Central Tigers, 12-2, on Tuesday afternoon. The Red and White were paced by two hits apiece from seniors Morgan Hall and Brandon Sprinkel and juniors Braxton Harrup and Clay Mein, and a stellar outing on the mound from senior Jesse Griggs.

“He was methodical as he gave up six hits, but was able to escape the sweet spot of the Sussex bats while striking out three and walking none,” manager Wes Griffith said of Griggs, who notched his second win of the season.

Southampton opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, when leadoff batter James Williams was plunked by a pitch. The junior stole second base to get into scoring position, and Harrup subsequently brought the speedster home on a line drive through the left side of the infield. Harrup also stole second, and scored on Hall’s base knock to left to give the home team a 2-0 lead.

Sussex evened the score in the top of the third, as they tallied four-consecutive singles.

Southampton responded in the bottom of the frame, scoring four runs on three hits, an error and a walk. Williams, Harrup and Hall all hit safely in the inning, said Griffith. The team continued the hot streak in the fourth, scoring three more runs for an 9-2 lead. This time, though, it came on only one hit, two hit batters and a walk.

The Indians were able to mercifully end the contest in the fifth, scoring one run on four-consecutive walks and two runs on two separate fielder’s choice opportunities to bring the lead to 10. With the win, Southampton improves to 3-5, 2-3 in the TriRivers District. The team hosted rival Franklin on Thursday afternoon, but results were not available at this paper’s deadline.

Next, the Indians travel to Dendron to play Surry County on Tuesday, April 28. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.