Lowndes Academy blasts three homers in sweep of Meadowview

By George L. Jones

The Selma Times-Journal

LOWNDESBORO – With a pair of wins Wednesday, the Lowndes Academy Rebels would have been able to advance to the AISA AA state finals unbeaten in the playoffs.

They got that and then some. Lowndes won both games in five innings in a two-game sweep of Meadowview.

The Rebels (31-11) posted nine runs in the second inning of game one en route to a 17-3 victory. Twelve unanswered runs allowed them to take a 12-1 win in the finale. They are 4-0 so far this postseason.

The Trojans (12-10) took their only lead of the afternoon when J.R. Lowe hit a solo home run in the first inning of the second game. From then on out, Meadowview got just four runners on base and stranded two of them in scoring position.

T. J. Mills was Mr. Everything for the Rebels in the first game. He was the winning pitcher in a complete game effort and went 2-for-4 with five RBIs at the plate.

Mills led the way in a nine-hit second inning with a three-run homer to right center field. Later in the inning, Tyler Bozeman blasted a two-run shot that gave Lowndes a 9-0 lead.

The Rebels did more damage in the third inning with a pair of runs off back-to-back sacrifice flies from Eric St. Cin and Jon Kreder. Both batters hit long popouts to second base that were just deep enough in the outfield to allow the runners to score from third.

Meadowview came back with two runs in the third when Richard Long and Justin Freine scored on an error at shortstop. Long added an RBI single in the fifth.

But Lowndes had all but put the game away with a six-run fourth inning. Mills drove in two runs with a single, and another run scored after an error in left field. Hunter Bell added a run-scoring double and Trent Pate hit an RBI groundout.

Long was the losing pitcher after lasting three innings and allowing 11 runs on 12 hits.

The error bug that has bitten Lowndes recently wasn’t as big a problem in the semifinal series. After committing three errors that led to two runs in the first game, the team was flawless defensively in the second.

It was a different story for the Trojans, however. They committed seven errors in the second game, four of them in the second inning.

Pate drove in two runs in that inning with a single, and Mills hit a line drive, two-run homer to right center, allowing the Rebels to go ahead 6-1.

Six more runs in the fourth gave Lowndes all the offense it needed. Bell and Kreder hit two-run singles, and Robin Hagood blooped an RBI double down the right field line.

Bradley Adams got the win, going five innings and allowing one run on two hits.

Blake Smith was tagged with the loss after going four innings and giving up 12 runs on 10 hits.

The Rebels will play in the state championship series beginning Tuesday, May 8 at Huntingdon College. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.