By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

THOMASTON – They knew what they had to do.

The Troup American all-stars arrived at the ballfield in Thomaston on Monday knowing they needed to beat the home team twice to capture the district championship.

That’s exactly what Troup American did.

After beating Thomaston 6-0 in the first game, Troup American pulled away late for a 12-5 victory in the second game to win the 9-10-year-old district title.

Troup American finished the tournament with a 5-1 record, and it won four games in a row after losing to Troup National on June 23.

Troup American and Thomaston have both qualified for the state tournament that will be held in Manchester.

In the first game, Troup got outstanding pitching performances from Chase Mosley and Jeremiah Staples, who combined for the shutout.

Mosley started and pitched four innings, and Staples threw the final two innings.

Jake Perry and Demetrius Hardnett had back-to-back RBI doubles in the third inning to help Troup build a 5-0 lead.

Jeremiah Staples added an RBI single in the sixth inning to cap the scoring.

Troup American also scored two runs in the first inning, with Chase and Shai McCarroll scoring after getting things started with back-to-back hits.

Troup scored a single run in the second inning, with Jeremiah Dunn scoring when Jarred Coggin reaching on an error.

In the second game, Troup American was trailing 4-3 when it exploded for seven runs to take a 10-4 lead.

Edward Facille had an RBI base hit to tie it, and Shai McCarroll was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give Troup the lead.

Troup continued to pour it on in the inning, with Jake Perry and Jeremiah Dunn both coming through with RBI singles.

Wesley Williams also had an RBI in the fifth inning.

Earlier in the game, Wesley Williams had a two-run single in the first inning, and Jeremiah Dunn had an RBI single in the fourth inning.

Troup added two more runs in the top of the sixth inning on a Shai McCarroll to go up 12-5, and that’s the way it ended.

Jake Perry did a terrific job in relief to get the win.

Demetrius Hardnett started and pitched into the second inning, and Perry came in with the bases loaded and got out of trouble with back-to-back strikeouts.

Perry pitched the final 4 1/3 innings.

OF NOTE: For much more on Monday’s games, as well as a recap of the tournament and a look ahead to state, see Thursday’s sports section and www.lagrangenews.com. And for more photos, check out Facebook.com/LDNSports