Winning senior night for Troup
Published 11:49 pm Thursday, April 19, 2018
By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY
Daily News
The Troup Tigers celebrated senior night in style.
Facing the Sandy Creek Patriots in their region finale, Troup exploded for 10 runs in the second inning on the way to a 13-1 victory.
Troup posted an 11-1 region record, and it finished tied for the top spot with Cartersville.
Cartersville will be the region’s top seed because of the tie-breaker, and Troup will be the number two seed.
Before Thursday’s game, Troup seniors Ryan Bliss, Brantly Robinson and Kenly Bridwell were each honored.
All three players contributed to the win.
Robinson started and pitched two scoreless innings, Bliss hit his eighth home run of the season, and Bridwell had a pair of doubles and two RBIs.
“It’s a good group,” Troup head coach Craig Garner said. “I’ll hate to see them leave. Even though there’s just three, they do so many different things. They’re vital pieces of the puzzle.”
Robinson, a three-sport athlete at Troup, said it’s been “awesome” to play with his fellow seniors.
“I’ve loved every minute of it,” Robinson said. “We’ve been playing together since we were little, playing T-ball all the way up to high school. It’s been great playing with them.”
The most decorated of the seniors is Bliss, a four-year starter who has already signed with Auburn.
Bliss has had a remarkable senior season, both at the plate, and at shortstop where he’s one of the state’s best at the position.
Bliss is hitting .442 with a .571 on-base percentage, and he has eight home runs and 28 RBIs.
“I hope to see him continue to get hotter and hotter,” Garner said.
Robinson is a pitcher and outfielder, and Bridwell is a key member of the lineup and a standout center fielder.
Troup took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the first inning, and it broke it open with 10 runs in the second.
Bliss had a two-run home run in the second inning, a towering shot that cleared the left-field fence with plenty of room to spare.
Cooper Doughman had two hits and three RBIs in the inning, and he capped the rally with a two-run double with two outs.
Luke Purnell added an RBI triple, and Caleb McCurry drove in a run with a single.
In the first inning, Colby Williams had a two-run double, and Garrett Casey knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Doughman finished with three hits and three RBIs, Bridwell had two hits and two RBIs, and Bliss scored three runs while driving in two with his home run.
Cole Young, Cade Garner, Trey Hartley and Ryan Key each had a hit.
After Robinson pitched the first two innings, Jackson Knox threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings before Colton Webb finished it with 1 1/3 shutout innings.
Troup finishes the regular season with a pair of home games today against Newnan and East Coweta.
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