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 The Toppers struck early in the first inning as Blake Collier walked
and reached second base on a wild pitch. Brother Beau Collier
smacked a line drive out to centerfield that gave Mount Pulaski the
early 1-0 lead. Huff took the mound in the bottom of the first and
quickly found his rhythm and promptly struck out the side. Will
Stewart singled to center for the Toppers in the second and walks to
Eli Griesheim and Blake Collier loaded the bases. Following a pop-up
by Brayden Curry, Michael Lowery connected on a fastball and it
quickly left the ballpark over the centerfielder's head. In other
words, a grand slam by Lowery that gave the Toppers a 5-0 lead.
Mount Pulaski added to the lead in the fourth inning as Blake
Collier was hit by a pitch and stole two bases just before Curry
singled and the Toppers were up 6-0. Curry also wrecked havoc on the
base paths and stole two bases in the inning. He then trotted home
on a single by Lowery. The Toppers were finally having fun in this
one, up 7-0. Huff was in a little bit of a jam in the bottom of the
fourth inning but a double play turned by Lowery and Griesheim
allowed the Toppers to escape with only one run allowed.
As the Toppers took a 7-1 lead into the top of the fifth inning,
their bats were just getting warmed up on this nice afternoon for
baseball. Stewart crushed his second single of the game and after
Griesheim walked, Blake Collier smacked a two-run double to
left-center. The next batter, Curry, stepped up to the plate and he
immediately hit a double, scoring Blake Collier and giving Mount
Pulaski a comfortable 10-1 lead. Lowery then stepped up to the plate
and wasted no time hitting a double himself that scored Curry.
Following a walk to Beau Collier, Matt Amidon singled to score
Lowery. Huff then came to the plate and knocked in the Toppers final
run with a single and the Toppers took a 13-1 lead going into the
bottom of the fifth inning.
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Huff easily shut Heyworth down in the bottom of the inning as he
caught a pop-up, fielded a line drive that snagged the end of his
glove and managed to get a routine ground ball hit to short that
ended the game rather quickly. Smiles were seen all the way around
the Toppers lineup as finally the first win of the season was in the
books, 13-1 the final.
At the plate, Lowery led the Toppers with a single, double, home run
and 6 RBIs. Stewart, Huff, Curry and Amidon each had two hits apiece
and the Collier twins each had one hit.
Mount Pulaski will play at Illini Central this afternoon at 4:15
p.m. in a game that was originally scheduled at home for the
Toppers. Please note the change in location.
[Teena Lowery]
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