Airport’s W.T. Murden pitches against B–C. Photos by Paulene Cruse Going into the bottom of the seventh inning Friday night, March 26, with a 3–1 lead must have felt like déjà vu for Airport pitcher W.T. Murden.

“Last year we had a 3–0 lead at our place, and W.T. was on the mound and walked a couple of batters and got a little tired. I threw him too long, and we lost the game,” Airport coach John Johnson said.

However, the outcome this year was different. After walking the leadoff batter for Brookland– Cayce, Garrett Williams, Murden settled down to retire the next three batters and secure the 3–1 win for the Eagles.

Murden wasn’t the only pitcher who threw a good game. Despite giving up three runs, Brookland– Cayce’s Michael Gilroy allowed only five hits and struck out six.

It was a scoreless game until the top of the third inning, when Lucas Knight stole third on a wild pitch from Gilroy. When the throw to third went array he was able to make it home to give Airport a 1–0 lead.

B–C’s Michael Gilroy pitches against Airport. The Bearcats evened the score in the bottom of the third. Kenyatta Castleberry had a one out single. The next batter, Zack Warner, doubled to right field which would have kept Castleberry at third, but a wild throw to the third basemen allowed Castleberry to score.

The score remained tied until the top of the fifth inning. A leadoff single from Casey Parker gave Airport a runner. After a bunt from Ryan Sturkie and a single from Knight moved Parker to third, a single from Stuart Pound brought Parker in to give Airport a 2–1 lead. The next batter, Jordan Williams, hit a double, scoring Pound and extending the lead to 3–1.

“We had better game plans at the plate after the fifth inning. Our guys did a better job of hitting the fast ball and staying off the curve ball,” Coach Johnson said about the fifth inning.

That was all the run support that Murden needed as he only allowed one hit from the next 11 Brookland– Cayce batters to preserve the win.

The win for the Eagles improved their overall record to 9–2 and put them squarely in the thick of the region championship race.

“We have to stay focused; this is a big win for us. Our region is tough, anybody can beat anybody. We have to keep getting better every day,” Coach Johnson said.