By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
They were both losses. Both were by one run. Yet the two setbacks the Brewton American Legion Post 79 baseball team endured at the hands of visiting Montgomery Saturday came in vastly different frustrating ways.
Post 79 (2-10) let a seventh inning lead slip away in a 6-5 loss in game one. Montgomery led from start to finish in its 5-4 win in game two. Brewton stranded the tying run at third base in the fourth inning and the tying and winning runs on base in the fifth. Game two was shortened to five innings due to no lights at the Jefferson Davis Community College field.
Although its season is just 16 days old, Saturday put Brewton one game away from the halfway point of its season in terms of games played. Parker said his team is still trying to find its identity.
Brewton let a pair of leads slip away in the opener after both teams plated a run in each of the first two innings.
Montgomery's first two batters hit back-to-back doubles off Post 79 hurler Whitney Qualls that gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Brewton tied the game in the bottom half of the frame when Jordan Ball's RBI groundout drove home Sean Little, who had singled to start the inning.
After Montgomery took a 2-1 lead in the top of the second, Brewton responded in the bottom half of the inning. Cory Flowers walked, stole second and scored when Allen Williams reached on an error.
Post 79 took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third when Ball drew a two-out walk and scored on an RBI double by Clay Simpson.
A pair of singles an error, a balk and a double enabled Montgomery to score twice in the top of the fifth and move back in front 4-3.
Brewton got those two runs and a 5-4 lead back in the bottom half of the inning. Smith walked and Ball single prior to a two-run triple by Simpson.
Qualls came within an out of closing the deal in the top of the seventh. Qualls retired the first two batters, but a walk, a hit batter and an RBI single tied the game at 5-5 and ended Qualls' day on the mound.
Flowers was unable to escape the jam unscathed. He hit the first batter he faced to load the bases and issued an RBI single by John Dunning one batter later that put Montgomery up 6-5.
Montgomery got a two-run homer from Bruce Alter off Flowers in the top of the first inning of game two and never trailed.
Montgomery extended that lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth against reliever Allen Williams on an RBI single by Jonathan Kreider.
Brewton was held hitless by Montgomery pitcher Nathan Baker until the bottom of the fourth inning when Smith beat out an infield hit. Smith stole second, went to third on Ball's groundout and scored when Simpson also beta out an infield hit. Dannon Lisenby ripped an RBI triple that Simpson and narrowed the Montgomery's lead to 3-2.
Brewton was unable to hold down Montgomery in the top of the fifth, as two insurance runs knocked the lead up to 5-2. Those runs ultimately proved to be the difference when Post 79 rallied in the bottom of the fifth.
Qualls beat out an infield single to start the inning. After Damian Jackson grounded out, Little gave Brewton some more hope with another single. Bonds popped out for the second out, but Smith and Ball each drilled RBI singles that cut Montgomery's lead to 5-4. Baker kept Smith and the tying run at third when he fanned Simpson for the final out.
Brewton hosts Covington County today for a 6 p.m. doubleheader.