COVINGTON, Ga. — Alcovy’s baseball team captured its first win of the 2025 season on Tuesday in a high-scoring affair as the Tigers defeated the Salem Seminoles 17-14.
Despite putting up 17 runs in the win, the Tigers ended the game with only six hits. However, Alcovy made up for it with its walks and its effort on the base paths.
The win for the Tigers is their first this season and its the first for new head coach Brandon Thomas.
Kenley sets up the Tigers in the early frames
Junior Evan Kenley started the game for the Tigers and went 3.2 innings on the mound.
After he hit the first batter and walked the second, Kenley managed to get out of the first inning with only one allowed. The run came on a RBI single from Salem’s Hunter Hicks.
In the bottom half of the opening frame, the Tigers pounced on Salem starter Jamil Harris Jr.
Kenley led off the inning with his lone hit of the day, but his efforts extended to the basepaths as began to be a serious problem for the Seminoles.
Kenley stole second base before he advanced to third and then home on back-to-back passed balls.
Before the inning could come to a close, the Tigers managed to score three more runs as the Seminoles struggled with passed balls, wild pitches and errors — miscues that ultimately plagued Salem all day.
After getting the 4-1 lead, Kenley retired the side one-two-three to put the Alcovy bats back in the box.
Once again, Kenley reached base to leadoff the inning as the junior took a four-pitch walk.
After stealing second base and moving to third on a wild pitch, an error from Salem’s outfield on Justin Gamble’s pop fly allowed Kenley to score.
An error in the ensuing at-bat allowed Gamble to score and extend the lead to 6-1.
Salem added on a pair of runs in the top of the third on an RBI double from Harris and on a costly error from Branson Moore at first base.
Alcovy responded well in the bottom half as it scored two runs on a passed ball and an error.
In the fourth inning, the Seminoles began to rally.
After back-to-back errors allowed Salem to score, the Seminoles put together a pair of RBI singles to trim Alcovy’s lead down to 8-7. With this, head coach Brandon Thomas called upon Sam Minnifield to take over on the mound for Kenley.
Although he walked the first two batters, Minnifield struck out Bryce Cammon with the bases loaded to escape the jam with the lead.
The Seminoles momentum seemed to carry over as the Tigers were unable to get any insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth.
After holding Alcovy scoreless, Salem went on to take the lead.
With two runners on base, an error from Gamble in centerfield allowed the tying run to score at 8-8.
From there, Salem went on to score in each of the next three at-bats to take a 11-8 lead over Alcovy with 2.5 innings left to go.
With the Tigers reeling, they found a way to surge right back into the game.
Command began to be a serious problem for Salem on the mound in the fifth inning as the Tigers managed to draw four walks in the frame while two other batters were hit by pitches.
With the bases loaded, Minnifield walked to score Kenley.
In the next at-bat, Raleigh Bolt singled into center field to trim Salem’s lead down to 11-10.
Back-to-back walks with the bases loaded from Isaiah Matthews and Moore put the Tigers ahead 12-11 going into the sixth inning.
Minnifield pitched a scoreless top of the sixth to set up the Tigers to potentially add insurance runs ahead of the final frame.
Alcovy did just that.
After Kenley reached base yet again to leadoff an inning, Cody Whitmer scored on a RBI single to center field.
Following a walk from Gamble, Minnifield laced a triple into left field that scored both runners to make it a 15-11 lead.
Bolt scored Minnifield in the next plate appearance before he later scored on an RBI groundout from Moore.
Alcovy led 17-11 after the sixth inning as the Tigers were only three outs away from their first win of the season.
However, Salem made them work for it in the final frame.
After the first two batters reached base to open the inning, a two-run double from Harris followed to trim the lead down to 17-13.
Immediately after, Hicks scored Harris on an RBI single to make it a three-run game with no outs.
However, perhaps the play of the game followed as Trindon Moore’s fly ball resulted in a key double play for the Tigers.
Moore flew out to Gamble in centerfield, who then doubled off Michael Romero at second base.
Five pitches later, Minnifield struck out Kayden Booker for Alcovy’s first baseball win of the season.
Key stats and notes
Alcovy ended the game with only six hits, but the approach at the plate paid off as the team tallied 12 walks in the win.
Another factor on Tuesday was the stolen bases. As a team, the Tigers stole 12 bases.
Bolt finished the day with a 3-for-4 line at the plate with two RBIs and two runs.
Kenley only tallied one hit in the game, but had two walks and four stolen bases. On the mound, Kenley only surrendered two earned runs through 3.2 innings and he struck out eight batters.
Minnifield went 1-for-3 with three RBIs, three runs and one walk. On the mound, Minnifield pitched 3.1 innings and only allowed one earned run and tallied five strikeouts.
Alcovy moved to 1-15 on the season and will hope to carry the momentum in its next region series against Clarke Central, which will begin on Friday, March 21 at 5:55 p.m.
