The Thomson Middle School Diamond Dogs defeated Glascock County on Tuesday, March 30, by a score of 9-3.
Leading hitters for the game were Austin Phillips, who was 3-3 at the plate, and Patrick Cooper, who was 2-4 with an inside-the-park home run and a triple. Austin Smith was 2-3 with an inside-the-park home run.
The winning pitcher was Justin McCorkle. He pitched six innings, gave up three runs on two hits and six walks, and recorded seventeen strikeouts. Coach Brett Chalker praised his winning hurler.
"Justin had an outstanding performance on the mound," Coach Chalker said. "He hit his spots beautifully. The second inning was shaky when he walked the bases loaded and gave up a hit to score three runs. After that, he settled into a groove and dominated the rest of the game. The last 12 outs were on strikeouts. He was in a zone tonight."
After Glascock County scored three runs to take a lead, TMS battled back to tie the game in the third inning. The big hit was the inside-the-park home run by Cooper that tied the game. In the fourth inning, the Dogs broke the dam by pushing across six runs. Cooper came through in the clutch with a triple that scored Phillips to give Thomson the lead.
Smith delivered the knockout blow with a two-run homerun.
"I was pleased with the way we came back after being down 3-0 early. This team has more heart than any other team I've ever been associated with. I'm proud to coach them," said Coach Chalker.
With the win, TMS is the number one seed on its side of the sub-region.
The Dogs will play host the region tournament April 17 at Sweetwater Park.
