Justin Lang-Spittler belts a towering grand slam in the first to open the flood gates. (Photo/Kristy Kimball Massey)
BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood Bengals batted around in the first inning to jump out 5-0 and went on to defeat the Irmo Yellow Jackets 10-0 Tuesday night at Blythewood in six innings.
“We got a couple big hits early and that relaxed us a little bit,” Blythewood head coach Barry Mizzell said. “We got Drew (Ellis) settled in and I thought we had good at-bats the rest of the game.”
Ellis went the distance on the hill for the home team and got the shutout. Ellis only allowed three hits and one walk while striking out nine.
“Drew wasn’t as sharp as I’ve seen him but he threw the ball well,” Mizzell said. “He did what we kind of expect of him every time he takes the ball – to give us a chance to win.”
After a leadoff base hit to start the game by Aaron Dahm and two hit batters, Connor Grant had an RBI base hit to right field to start the scoring. Justin Lang-Spittler followed with a grand slam near the light pole in right-center to put the home team up 5-0. In the bottom half of the second, Grant had a two-out double to right-center field for his second and third RBI of the night to push the Bengal advantage to 7-0. Grant finished 3-for-3 with a walk.
Tyler Romanik led off the fourth with a double to right-center and Ellis brought him home with a towering home run to right field to make it 9-0. Romanik was 2-for-3, hit by a pitch and scored twice.
In the last half of the sixth, Chase Matthews led off with a walk and Toby Robson was hit by a pitch, one of five Bengals hit in the game. Dwight Stokes would reach on an error by the second baseman, and with two outs and the bases loaded, pinch-hitter Chandler Henderson was hit by a pitch to bring in the game-ending run due to the 10-run rule.
Mizzell was able to get 15 ballplayers into the game with the outcome well in hand.
Ellis walked the leadoff batter of the game, Nick Jenkins, but would not walk another. That walk was quickly erased by a 6-4-3 double play. Grant Robertson, who was 2-for-2, led off with a double in the second for Irmo but Ellis retired the next three in order, the last two by strikeouts.
Ellis struck out the final batter of the fourth after allowing two hits and the third out of the fifth inning for the Yellow Jackets was when Austin Aldridge, who reached on a passed ball when he struck out swinging, was thrown out by Andrew Crook trying to steal third with two outs. In keeping with the theme of the night, Ellis also struck out the last two batters he faced in the Yellow Jackets’ sixth inning.
Blythewood-10 Irmo-0
Irmo: 0-0-0-0-0-0 – 0
BHS: 5-2-0-2-0-1 – 10
Drew Ellis. Lucas White, Andrew Baker, Andrew Peterson.
WP – Ellis 2-1. LP – White.
2B – Connor Grant, Tyler Romanik (BHS); Grant Robertson (IRMO). HR – Justin Lang-Spittler, Ellis (BHS). Leading hitters: BHS – Grant 3-3, 2B, BB, 3 RBI, R; Romanik 2-3, HBP, 2B; Barrett Grant 1-2, BB; Irmo – Robertson 2-2, 2B.
Records – Blythewood 5-2; Irmo 0-6.
