By Dustin Kent

Published: April 12, 2008

GRACEVILLE — The Graceville Tigers got eight runs in the fifth inning and another in the sixth to hand the Malone Tigers an 11-1 defeat in six innings Friday night.

The win clinches the top seed in the district tournament for Graceville, which swept the season with the rival Tigers.

“It was definitely a big one for us,” Graceville coach Mike Carter said after the game. “They opened with a big lick early, but we got a little lucky in the fifth and opened it up, so I was real pleased with that.”

That big lick that Carter spoke of came in the form of a solo home run by Malone’s Trevor Blackburn in the first inning, a lined shot that zipped over the center field fence for a 1-0 lead.

However, Graceville starter Lee Steverson settled in after that and shut Malone down for the rest of the game.

Graceville tied the game up in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI-single by Stephen Burdeshaw off of Malone starter Justin Bryan.

GHS took the lead in the fourth on an infield single by Aaron Taylor, which brought Justin Taylor to the plate for a 2-1 advantage.

In the fifth, Graceville was aided by a pair of Malone errors to allow the first two hitters to reach base.

Cody Gainer’s RBI double made it 3-1 and Tyler Crutchfield’s two-run double to center field made it 5-1and ended Bryan’s night.

Blackburn came on in relief for Malone but struggled with his command, walking the first three batters he faced.

By the time Chris Willis hit an RBI bloop single to shallow left field off of reliever Kevin Warren, it was 8-1.

A two-run single by Justin Miles gave Graceville a nine-run lead.

Crutchfield led the sixth inning off with a double and was immediately brought home by Chase Ivey’s single to left to end the game.

“Hats off to Graceville, they did a great job,” Malone coach Max Harkrider said after the game. “We had a couple of errors in that fifth inning and they just got rolling and we couldn’t make it stop.

“They took advantage of our mistakes and (Steverson) did a good job on the mound.”
For Graceville, the win means it will take on Poplar Springs in the semifinals of the district tournament, while Malone will take on Bethlehem.

“We were just glad to get out with a win,” Carter said of his team. “Max does such a great job with those guys. They’re very well-coached and (Bryan) is such a good athlete. I was proud that we put it in play off of him.”