Tattnall Square blasts FPD, remains undefeated in region

The Tattnall Square baseball team remained undefeated in GHSA Region 7-1A play as it beat FPD 16-2 on Tuesday night.

Tattnall (5-0 in the region) took advantage of six walks and two hit batters in the third inning to score 10 runs to put the game away early. Logan Simmons drove in five runs while Garrett Houston went the distance on the mound as Tattnall improved to 13-1 overall.

Three who mattered

Simmons: The junior shortstop had a memorable third inning as he started the scoring for Tattnall with a long three-run homer and then added a double in the same inning that scored two more runs.

Luke Laskey: The No. 2 hitter for Tattnall had two hits and drove in four runs.

Houston: Tattnall’s right-hander gave up single runs in the first and second but found his groove after Tattnall’s big third. He gave up five hits and walked only one in the five-inning game and he also had five strikeouts.

Turning point

FPD played well for the first two innings and took advantage of a walk in the first to leadoff hitter Dalton Cox, who moved to third on a single by Garrett West and a groundout. Cox scored on another groundout by Ryan Jones. FPD took advantage of a dropped pop-up by Simmons with Tyler Mimbs at the plate, and he later scored on a single by Jackson McCart. But Tattnall took advantage of walks and timely hitting by Simmons to blow the game open in the third. FPD pitchers walked 10 batters in the game and also hit three batters.

They said it

Tattnall head coach Joey Hiller on the performance: “We got off to a slow start but we took advantage when we had too. I thought we were very patient at the plate and were able to get some guys on base and then we came up with some timely hitting.

Hiller on his team’s performance in the first 14 games. “We had some holes to fill at the beginning of the season, and we are starting to find some answers, but we have to continue to get better every game. We will see FPD again on Friday, and I am sure it will be a tough game

Simmons on his rare dropped pop-up: “It was a routine play, and I felt like I let my team down when I dropped it. But we have been behind in games before this year, and we knew what we had to do the next inning and the bats got going.”

Simmons on the five-RBI inning: “I have never done that in high school in the same inning, and it was a good feeling, especially after my error. Most of this team has been together for a long time, and we never lose faith in each other no matter what happens.”

What’s next?

Tattnall hosts FPD on Friday.

This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 10:35 PM with the headline "Tattnall Square blasts FPD, remains undefeated in region."