From staff reports

The Troup Tigers are at .500, which considering the murderous schedule they’ve faced, isn’t an insignificant accomplishment.

The Tigers traveled to Class AAAAA power North Cobb on Saturday and came away with an 11-3 victory to improve to 4-4.

The Tigers have won back-to-back games after losing four of five as they continue to prepare for the upcoming Region 2-AAA schedule.

The Tigers banged out 10 hits, and Brad Bartlett pitched five solid innings to pick up the win.

“We ended up hitting it a lot better. We had a lot of good at-bats,” Troup coach Craig Garner said. “And we kept a lot of pressure on them (on the base paths).”

Troup slugger Luke Bailey had a pair of doubles, and he walked twice.

Rus Morman and Cody Hunt each had two hits, and Blake Barber, Eric Escobedo and Brian Alder had hits as well.

Escobedo, who was hit twice and walked twice, was on base five times.

Alder’s hit was a double that nearly cleared the fence.

Trae Bryant, who was Bailey’s courtesy runner, had three stolen bases.

Bartlett, Garner said, “did a good job hitting his spots and getting them to hit his pitch.”

The Tigers jumped out early, scoring two runs in the first inning and four more in the second.

Troup then scored two runs in the fifth inning, and one run in the sixth and seventh innings.

Garner said the Tigers played well defensively.

Third baseman Jim Reed, Garner said, had six assists.

Troup continues its difficult schedule on Monday when it hosts Auburn at 5:30 p.m.

Auburn is one of Alabama’s top teams.