North Decatur varsity baseball sailed to an easy victory over Southwestern Shelby 16-2 on Thursday.
The Chargers fired up the offense in the first inning, scoring one run on a Xander Jones single.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Spartans tied things up at one when Jame Oliver was hit by a pitch, driving in a run.
North Decatur would pull away for good with six runs in the third inning. The Chargers scored their runs on singles by Nolan Burkhart, Xander Jones, Ty Litmer, and Tyler Dean. North Decatur also scored on a ground out by Kamdenn McKinney.
North Decatur would add eight more runs in the fifth inning. Brayden Hancock, Ried Messer, Litmer, Dean, James Evans, and McKinney all contributed in the big inning with RBI.
Hancock was the winning pitcher for North Decatur. The lefthander lasted five innings, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out five.
Isaac Bunch took the loss for Southwestern Shelby. The hurler allowed 15 hits and 14 runs over four innings, striking out three.
North Decatur finished the game with 15 hits. Litmer, Burkhart, Hancock, and Jones each managed multiple hits for the Chargers. Burkhart and Litmer all had three hits to lead North Decatur.
Southwestern Shelby had seven hits in the game. Caleb McCracken and Matthew Clements each racked up multiple hits for the Spartans.
Recap provided by North Decatur varsity baseball coach Christian McKinney.