After falling to Red Level on Tuesday night, the Pleasant Home Eagles needed to sweep the Tigers on Thursday night at home, and that they did. The Eagles topped the Tigers 9-2 in game one and 9-4 in game two to clinch the Class 1A, Area 3 championship.

 

PLEASANT HOME 9, RED LEVEL 2

Pleasant Home jumped out front early in the opening game and held off Red Level on the way to a 9-2 win to force a game three.

Garrett Barton took the hill for the Eagles and quickly retired the first two batters with a fly out and a strikeout.

Colten Dorman kept the inning alive for the Tigers with a two-out double to left field, but Barton got the next batter to ground out to Aaron Warthen at short.

In the bottom of the first, Barton, R.D. Clark and Joe Gibbs each drew walks to start the inning.

Warthen followed with a hard grounder ball through the infield, scoring Barton and Clark for a 2-0 Pleasant Home lead.

Tigers’ starting pitcher Jeffery Perdue got the next batter to strikeout for the first out of the inning.

Perdue picked up the second out of the inning with a ground out from Walt Weaver, but Weaver was able to get his job done and Gibbs scored on the play to put the Eagles up 3-0.

David Baker and Mason Greathouse each earned free passes to load the bases back up for the Eagles with two outs in the opening frame.

Reid Adams was plunked with the bases juiced to score Warthen from third.

Barton helped out his own cause with a two run single to right to put Pleasant Home out front 6-0 at the end of one.

The offensive surge seemed to ignite Barton’s arm, as he fanned the Tigers in order in the top of the second inning.

In the top of the third inning, Jachen Hartz reached off an error and then Dylan Jordan drove him with hard hit ball to left field for the Tigers first run of the game.

Dalton Ainsworth singled in the top of the sixth for the Tigers and later came around to score to make the score 7-2.

The Eagles added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when Clark scored off a single from Weaver.

Dorman, Ainsworth and Chance Russell each picked up two hits for the Tigers.

Barton, Warthen and Weaver each had one hit and two RBI in the win for Pleasant Home.

Barton picked up the win on the mound, working four innings, striking out six and allowing one unearned run.

 

PLEASANT HOME 9, RED LEVEL 4

The Tigers kept it close for most of the game, but a five-run fifth inning allowed the Pleasant Home Eagles to clinch the series and area title with a 9-4 victory.

Pleasant Home struck first in the bottom of the second inning with two runs.

Warthen singled to start the home half of the inning and moved around to third when Chase Gunter singled.

Baker followed with a ground out back to the pitcher, but Warthen scurried across home for the first run of the game.

Gunter later came around to score off an error to put the Eagles up 2-0 after two innings of play.

In the bottom of the third inning, Barton was hit by a pitch and then came around to score when Gibbs ripped a double to center.

Josh Ruth came in as a courtesy runner for Gibbs and scored when Warthen hit a two-out single to right to give Pleasant Home a 4-0 advantage.

Jordan led off the top of the fourth inning with a line drive double to left, and then came around to score off an error.

Ainsworth came up and drove in Dorman with single to make it 4-2.

Pleasant Home opened up the floodgates in the bottom of the fifth inning when Warthen doubled in both Clark and Gibbs.

Three more Eagle runners came around to score off two errors and hit-by-pitch to make it 9-2 heading into the sixth.

In the top of the sixth inning, Ainsworth drove in Dorman again to make the score 9-3.

Red Level’s final run came in the top of the seventh inning when Perdue drove in Hunter Carpenter with a single.

Ainsworth finished with two hits and two RBI for the Tigers.

Warthen went 4-for-5 with two RBI to lead the way for the Eagles.

Warthen also picked up the win on the mound, going all seven innings while striking out six and allowing just two earned runs.