The varsity baseball team faced the Trion Bulldogs on Friday, March 16 following a loss against the Bulldogs on the previous Wednesday.

The Tigers opened up the first inning with freshman Lawson Brown pitching. A popup caught by senior Austin Cloud and a rundown by junior Trey Yunger brought two quick outs for Darlington.

Another popup caught by junior Adam Himes put the Tigers at bat.

“We worked to improve our fielding and not have as many errors, which let us put up a lot more points and win this time,” Brown said.

The first inning finished with a score of 0-0. A dribbler to Yunger and a double play by freshman Lawson Goodwin and Yunger to senior Nick Mauer put the Tigers batting again quickly.

The second inning remained scoreless, but three quick outs for Darlington allowed a home run hit by junior Zuker Campbell with Mauer and senior Nolan Wilson on base, putting the Tigers up 3-0 at the end of the third inning.

“Mentality and setting the tone early in the game were really the keys for us to succeed this time against Trion,” Campbell said.

A single by junior Cam Watson and a sacrifice bunt by freshman Aiden Cloud advanced Watson to second.  Another single by Himes pushed Watson home, increasing Darlington’s lead to 4-0 at the end of the fourth inning.

“We hit the ball well, but still need to clean up the mistakes to take the next step,” Yunger said.

A double by Trion allowed one run, cutting into the deficit with a score of 4-1. A triple by the Bulldogs with two runners on base added three points to the scoreboard, ending the fifth inning tied 4-4.

Darlington entered the sixth inning with Wilson pitching, and a double by Trion put them in the lead 5-4.

A dribbler by Himes, a double deep in center field by Yunger, and a walk to first brought the bases loaded with Wilson up to bat. Another walk tied the game again, and a single by Campbell put the Tigers ahead by one to enter the final inning.

An out at first and a line drive caught by Wilson brought two outs for Darlington. An attempt to steal a base led to the final out by Campbell and Yunger, with the Tigers winning 6-5.