Sports
Eagles Shut Down Campbell 4-1 Behind Collins' Complete Game
Senior pitcher dominates, while freshman shortstop Tyler Minkkinen provides offensive spark
pitcher and Georgia College signee David Collins tossed a complete game three-hitter while mowing down eight batters to pace the visiting Eagles to a 4-1 win over Campbell at Lattanzi Field Tuesday night.
This was a key victory for South Cobb as it fights for fourth place in Region 4-AAAAA, which would give it a berth in playoffs.
"David threw strikes, kept the ball down, and did what he needed to do - what he’s done for four years," said South Cobb head coach and David's father, Mark Collins. "Their pitcher [Taylor Colwell] threw a good game. We had plenty of difficulty with him. He was hard to get to."
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South Cobb led 2-0 in the second inning without ever getting the ball out of the infield against Colwell. Colwell allowed two infield singles, hit one batter and walked in a run. The second run scored on a groundball out before Colwell retired the Eagles' No. 3 hitter to end the inning.
"I struggled to throw strikes early and couldn't locate my curveball as well as I normally do," said Colwell.
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South Cobb added a pair of unearned runs in the sixth to make the score 4-0 courtesy of Campbell fielding errors. The only hit in the inning came off the bat of Eagles' freshman shortstop Tyler Minkkinen. Minkkinen went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and played superbly in the field.
The Spartans were able to load the bases in the bottom of the inning, but came away with one only run. Shortstop Alex Jardine drew a walk and eventually scored on a wild pitch by Collins. He stranded a pair of Campbell runners after inducing a groundball to first base, ending the only serious threat mounted by the Spartans during the game.
"Their pitcher [Collins] was impressive," said Campbell coach Ron Wendt. "Taylor pitched well for us too. We just couldn’t get anything going against their guy."
With the win, South Cobb improves to 7-10 and 3-3 in the region. The Eagles are tied for fourth place in the standings with McEachern and will play host the Indians in a critical showdown on Thursday, April 14. First pitch is slated for 5:55 p.m.
