Polk County’s offense, according to head coach Ty Stott, has quietly been its strength this season.
The Wolverines loudly showed that on Wednesday.
Polk had no trouble picking up its sixth win of the season, crusing past Asheville Trailblazers 16-6 in a five-inning game at Polk County.
Get PolkSports delivered to your inbox
Sign up for our free newsletter →
The Wolverines (6-16) built a 15-4 lead after three innings and went on to match their highest run total of the season.
“We hit and kept hitting,” Stott said. “They got up 2-0 and hit the ball early. We jumped on them and scored a few runs and they stopped hitting. That’s what we’ve done this season.”
The Wolverines scored six runs in the first, keyed by Daniel Painter’s RBI double and Holden Owens’ two-run single, and kept scoring, adding four runs in the second and five more in the third.
The Trailblazers rallied and made it 15-6 in the top of the fifth before J.D. Edwards’ two-out base hit in the bottom of the fifth drove home Chris Phipps with the game-cliching run.
Edwards pitched three innings to earn the win, with Andrew Merriotte and Brandon Ridings each tossing an inning of relief.
“We’ve hit the ball better than it seems,” Stott said. “And if you look at the stats, we’re not a bad defensive team.
“It’s all about pitching. If you can go out and stop teams and come in and score a couple of runs, it’s usually over.”
Polk County wraps up its season on Thursday, hosting Mitchell for Senior Day.
