SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – After trailing 3-1 and 5-2 at various points in Thursday’s contest against the visiting Rockets from Chapel Hill (4-4), the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (6-1) came back to win their third-consecutive game of the week, 9-6. 

Blake Bone had a perfect night at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 in the box with one walk and two RBIs for Shelbyville Central. Elijah Westbrooks came through with a big-time pitching performance in relief, throwing 3.0 innings and giving up just a single unearned run on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts on 51 pitches to record the win.

Early on, Brody Thomas got the start for the Golden Eagles, lasting 3.2 innings before being pulled in the top of the fourth. Thomas struggled to find the zone in the third and fourth innings after a strong first two frames, eventually giving up five earned runs on six walks and two hits with five strikeouts on 88 pitches.

For Chapel Hill, it was a typical late-week pitching rotation, with typical Monday starter Houston Matlock getting the start and pitching just a single inning. Matlock gave up one earned run on two hits and one walk with two strikeouts in the first inning. 

Shelbyville took a 1-0 lead after the first, holding onto that advantage until Thomas ran into some trouble in the top of the third. The Rockets scored three runs, but the Golden Eagles managed to score two themselves against Jordan Northam in the home half to tie the game at 3-3. 

Chapel Hill fought back with two more runs in the top of the fourth, but Westbrooks came on to shut the door and keep the score at just 5-3. The Golden Eagles put up another run against Northam to trim the lead in half, then plated two more in the bottom of the fifth to end Northam’s night. The Rockets’ reliever finished with a line of 2.0 innings pitched with five runs – four earned – on six hits and one walk with two strikeouts on 33 pitches.

Micah Morgan came on to limit the damage, keeping the Rockets within one run, 6-5, until the next inning. The Golden Eagles plated three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a commanding 9-5 lead and secure the eventual three-run victory.

Both teams committed a whopping four errors in the field defensively. 

Offensively, Miles McCullough went 1-for-5 at the plate for Shelbyville with a run scored, Westbrooks batted 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch, and Cade Davis finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Brody Thomas went 1-for-3 with a HBP, Camron Burke went 1-for-1 with an RBI and a HBP, Ashton Whorley finished 2-for-4 with one RBI, and Braxton Vari batted 1-for-3 with one RBI.

Shelbyville Central is scheduled to host Marshall County on Friday at 4:00 p.m.