By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Troup Tigers busted open a close game with six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on the way to a 10-3 home win over Chapel Hill on Monday.

The Tigers were down by a run as they came to bat in the fourth inning, and by the time they were done hitting they were ahead by five.

Troup improved to 4-1 in Region 5-AAAA, and it will play at Chapel Hill on Wednesday before finishing the week with a home game against Sandy Creek on Friday.

The Tigers struggled a bit in the early going on Monday, and they were down 2-0 after giving up unearned runs in the first and third innings.

Troup pushed a pair of runs across in the bottom of the third inning to tie it, and Chapel Hill reclaimed the lead with a run in the top of the fourth.

The Tigers sent 10 batters to the plate in their half of the fourth inning to surge ahead, and they didn’t look back.

Daniel Martin and Cade Garner did a nice job in relief of Jackson Knox, who started and pitched the first three innings.

Martin, a freshman who has become a key member of the staff, pitched three innings and held Chapel Hill to three hits and one run with three strikeouts.

Cade Garner worked a perfect seventh inning to finish things off.

Luke Purnell had three of Troup’s nine hits, and he had an RBI and two runs scored.

Colby Williams had two hits and an RBI, and Cooper Doughman had a hit and two RBIs.

Martin and Caleb McCurry each had a hit and an RBI, Trace Meadows had a hit, a walk, and two runs scored, and Colton Webb had a hit and a walk.

The Tigers, after coming up empty in their first two at-bats, plated two runs in the third inning.

Purnell got things started with a base hit, and after a Grayson Garner sacrifice bunt, McCurry’s RBI single put the Tigers on the board.

Meadows reached on an infield hit, and Cooper Doughman’s sacrifice fly tied it.

The six-run outburst in the fourth inning started with a Webb base hit, and Cade Garner walked to put two men on.

Martin grounded into a fielder’s choice to bring in Webb with the tying run, and Purnell followed with an RBI single.

McCurry drove in another run with a groundout, and Doughman’s RBI single made it a 7-3 game.

Ethan Morton scored on a wild pitch to complete the six-run rally.

The Tigers added to their lead with a run in the fifth inning, with Martin reaching on a base hit and later scoring on a double steal.

In the sixth inning, Meadows walked and scored on a Williams base hit.

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