Sipe leads Fort over Giants

Fort Defiance’s Blake Sipe had three RBI, three doubles and scored twice on Friday night against Waynesboro — he also struck out eight to pick up the win.

The Indians batted around in the first inning, scoring six runs while holding off a late Waynesboro rally to pick up a 15-8 Southern Valley District win.

Sipe scored once, hit two RBI and had two doubles in the Indians six-run first inning, giving himself plenty of cushion for the rest of the game.

“Our bats rolled tonight,” Sipe said. “That took a lot of pressure off. I just felt I had to throw strikes and let my defense make the plays.”

Daniel Wright, Derek Shifflett, Timmy Miller, Alex Ribelin and Corbin Lucas also scored in the inning.

Wright also picked apart the Little Giants defense, going 4-for-4, scoring five runs while batting in two. In the third inning, Wright hit a two-run home run over the left-field fence, scoring Sipe. 

The Little Giants stranded four runners in the first three innings before they were able to get their offense going in the fourth thanks in part to a costly Indians error. After Steven Brown walked, J.T. Talley reached first on an Indians infield error, putting Brown on second. Tyler Davis then hit a double, scoring Brown and Talley. Davis later scored off of a Terrell Thompson sacrifice.

“I give Waynesboro credit; they scored runs late in the game,” Fort Defiance coach Vic Spotts said. “I wasn’t happy with our fourth inning because I think we got complacent.”

After Wright scored in the fifth inning off of a Shifflett single, the Indians lit up the board again in the seventh scoring four more runs.

In the bottom of the final inning, after Shifflett relieved Sipe, the Little Giants began to claw their way back into the ballgame, trailing 15-3. Terrell Thomson led things off with a solo home run, then Joseph Lucas reached first on a single and advanced after a wild pitch. 

Jimmy Eavers struck out, but a Tyler Briggs single scored Lucas. Brown hit a one-hopper to first to record the second Little Giants out, but it moved Briggs over allowing Talley’s single to score him. Davis hit a single and an Aaron Lamb single scored Briggs and Davis. That was all the Little Giants could muster late in the game.

“I told them to go down swinging and have fun,” said Waynesboro coach Webber Payne.

Waynesboro finished the game with five errors but countered it with 10 hits. The Indians recorded 17 hits.

“The first game we had double digit hits,” Payne said. “Sipe threw a heck of a ballgame. We just can’t make five errors in a game and play good baseball.”

The Little Giants will host Wilson on Monday in a makeup game while Fort.