After rough first inning Natchez High takes care of business

Published 12:00 am Sunday, February 27, 2011

Natchez — The Natchez High School Bulldogs swept the visiting Provine Rams in a junior varsity, varsity doubleheader Saturday afternoon to open the Bulldog’s season.

The junior varsity tallied a 4-1 victory off the arm of winning pitcher Derrian Johnson and the varsity responded with a 7-3 victory with sophomore Trevonta Green on the mound.

Green had a rough first inning against the Rams, allowing two runs. One of the runs was off a balk in which Green looked confused and seemed to lack focus. However, Green settled down, striking out all three outs in the first inning and multiple hitters along the way through four innings pitched. He only allowed one more run in his final three innings, yet it was by an error.

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“He did a fantastic job. He’s young, he’s just a sophomore,” head coach Charlie Williams said. “We try to keep him focused and he did a good job of staying focused. He pitched a little bit in JV as a sophomore, so this is first year to be a full-time pitcher.”

Heading into the bottom of the second, the game was tied at two apiece. However, the Bulldogs had a four-run rally in the inning, increasing their lead, 6-2.

“We put two hits together,” Williams said. “It was the only inning we put multiple hits together.”

Trevon Chatman had an RBI-double, scoring Johnathan Hawkins and Brian Isaac contributed with a double as well, scoring Chatman and Jadarius Williams. The fourth run came off a passed ball.

In the fourth inning, the Bulldogs scored their seventh run of the contest with an Isaac single, scoring Chatman.

Isaac finished the game with two hits and three RBIs. Chatman managed a double and two runs scored.

Despite the seven runs scored by Natchez High, coach Williams sees much improvement needs to be made in his club’s hitting. Many runs were forfeited by the Rams’ errors, which were unearned. However, Chatman and Isaac delivered when runners were in scoring position.

“There’s plenty of room for improvement, we’ve got to catch up on our hitting,” Williams said. “We’ve been putting a lot of emphasis on defense, we have to get better at batting.”

As the season progresses, Williams will make the adjustments needed to be successful.