Sneads players and coaches still had a sour taste from their loss to Liberty County in the first regular-season game of the year. The 2-1 loss was just a memory after they hosted the Liberty County Bulldogs and dealt them an 8-1 loss behind a trio of pitching.
Justin Tye got the starting nod on the mound for Sneads, went five innings, gave up one run on five hits, two walks and struck out four batters. Parker Hayes came on for an inning, gave up no runs on one hit, no walks and struck out one of the four batters he faced. Bowden Howell closed out the final inning, gave up no runs on one hit, one walk and struck out one batter.
Sneads wasted no time in putting runs on the board with three going up in the first inning. Taylor Brown led off with a single up the middle and stole second. Justin Tye got it down at the plate as well as on the mound with an infield single that moved Brown to third but on a try for home he was out. Tye stole second and third before Colton Mercer drew a walk and Bowden Howell loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch. Russell Allen sent one up the left side to score Tye and Mercer with a wild pitch allowing Howell to score before a pair of strikeouts ended the inning.
The Pirates added another run in the second inning. With one out, Tyler Brown reached on an error but was caught on an attempted steal of second. Taylor Brown drew a walk and scored on a long single to left field by Justin Tye. Tye took second on the throw home in an attempt to get Brown. Both were safe. A grounder to the mound ended the inning.
Another Pirate run went on the board in the third inning. With one out, Russell Allen took advantage of a Liberty County error to reach second safely. Wyatt Burch singled with Allen scoring on the hit. Parker Hayes drew a walk with McLane Baxter singling to load the bases but a flyout to third ended the inning with the bags full.
Liberty County’s lone run came in the top of the fourth. Sneads answered with a pair of runs in their half of the fourth inning. Justin Tye led off by reaching on an error and moved to second on a sac by Colton Mercer. Bowden Howell doubled to score Tye and went to third on a fielder’s choice by Russell Allen with everyone safe on the play. Howell crossed home plate before back-to-back flyouts ended the inning.
The final run came in the sixth inning starting with a leadoff single by Parker Hayes getting things started. With one out, Taylor Brown singled to score Hayes with Justin Tye following with a single. Consecutive outs ended the inning but the Pirates had more than enough insurance for the win.
