By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — What started off as a slugfest — 11-7 after just two innings — ended with more of a whimper. In came in the form of a Boone Bigfoots rally from behind in the late innings to defeat the Lexington County Blowfish, 12-11, on June 28 at Smith Stadium.
The Blowfish got the offensive fireworks started in the top of the first with four runs, including a 3-run blast off the bat of catcher Ryan Ouzts.
Controversy Brews
But in the bottom half of the first, Lexington’s starter on the mound, Beckett White, lost his composure in alleging that a Bigfoots player was stealing signs. He had just given up a pair of runs on singles by Nadir Lewis and Tyson Bass when he started to complain. The Bigfoots piled on with a verbal barrage from the dugout when White hit the next batter, Boone newcomer Brandon Rogers. After a passed ball that allowed Rogers to advance to second and Tyson Bass to advance to third, Max Weller ripped triple to the gap in center, scoring both runners. A wild pitch by White allowed Weller to score from third and it kept getting worse with a walk to J C Navarro and consecutive singles by Rhogue Wallace and Carlos Amezquita.
By the time White got a third out, the Bigfoots had taken a 7-4 lead — and it was just the first inning.
Bigfoots Rally Late
Some might have called the action in the top of the second inning “payback” for all the previous Bigfoot taunting when Lexington County batted around, producing six runs to take a 10-7 lead and then shutting down the Boone crew. In fact, neither team could push another run across the plate until the Bigfoots tallied five more runs over the 6th(1), 7th(1) and 8th(3) innings. The 8th inning production was highlighted by a 2-run single off the bat of Tyson Bass and a sacrifice fly to center from Rogers.
With the win, the Bigfoots (9-10) solidified their hold on 4th place in the West Division of the Coastal Plain League. At 10-8, Lexington County is in third place, behind Forest City (13-6) and Macon Bacon (11-8).
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