Live Oak starting pitcher Sawyer Pruitt worked around a leadoff single to start Thursday’s night’s Division I nonselect playoff game against Dutchtown, and the sophomore right-hander didn’t have to worry about much the rest of the game.
Live Oak gave Pruitt all the run support he would need, scoring seven runs in the first two innings alone, and the Eagles went on to take Game 1 of their best-of-three series 10-3 at Live Oak.
Pruitt, who is committed to Ole Miss, threw 100 pitches in six innings, 59 for strikes. He gave up five hits to go with three strikeouts and two walks and didn’t run into trouble until the fifth, when Dutchtown’s Casey McCoy hit a three-run homer.
Live Oak (29-6) and Dutchtown (26-11) will play Game 2 at 6 p.m. Friday. A third game, if necessary, would be played on 1 p.m. Saturday.
“I thought Sawyer did a really good job battling,” Live Oak coach Jesse Cassard said. “Our hitters have been locked in since the last game of the season. They’ve stayed on routine and have been getting better. They got the job done.”
Cooper Smith led the Eagles with three hits and three RBIs. Kenny Berard also had three hits while Lane Lusk and Logan Coley each had two. Live Oak finished with 12 hits against three Dutchtown pitchers.
Live Oak wasted no time getting its offense in gear. Lusk and Brock Davis led off the first with back-to-back singles, and Coley walked to load the bases. Smith followed with a two-run single, and Berard singled in another run for 3-0 Eagles lead.
In the second, Live Oak loaded the bases on a single, a walk and a batter hit-by-pitch. With two outs, Mike Stephens and Berard hit consecutive two-run doubles as Live Oak led 7-0 through two innings.
Smith doubled again and scored in Live Oak’s three-run fourth. The Eagles were close to having the game called by run rule after five innings, but Dutchtown finally had an answer.
In the top of the fifth, Dutchtown’s Jackson Graddick singled and Abram Green reached base on a one-out error. That brought McCoy to the plate, and he hit a three-run homer to right to keep the Griffins’ hopes alive.
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