By Greg Sullivan
Sports Editor

The Diamond Pups bounced from a 1-0 loss at Monticello last Tuesday to pick up a big 9-1 win at GMC on Friday, silencing any doubts about the teams offensive production.
"For the second game in a row we received outstanding pitching," said Pup Head Coach Mike McSherry. "Our bats came alive today and that was the big difference."
Fred Williams knocked in Carter Shultz and Alex Harris with a triple in the first inning and came around to score himself on a pass ball.
Those three first inning runs would have been enough for starter Dylan Peppers to pick up the win, but the Pups wouldn't stop there. GMC's lone run came in the first inning.
Dustin Taylor had a double in the second inning and came around to score following an Austin Ross single and a wild pitch, to put Morgan County up 4-1.
It was the third inning, however, that really put the game completely out of GMC's reach.
The Pups scored four runs in an inning that started off with four consecutive hits. Peppers started things off with stand-up triple, followed by a hit by Williams. Catcher Stewart Spence and left fielder Will Henry followed with singles, with Henry scoring on Ross' one out single.
McSherry said he was pleased by the way his team looked defensively, as well, turning double play to end the fifth and sixth innings, both showcasing the glove-work of Williams at first.
"We definitely have room for improvement--especially with base running and situational hitting, but I am extremely proud of all these boys and how they were able to file away a tough loss and compete as well as they did today," McSherry said.
Friday's win was important to the team, coming off of last Tuesday's tough 1-0 loss at Monticello when the Pups ran out of time, which is quite rare in baseball.
Turns out the game would be called after five innings due to a time-limit rule, deny the Pups a shot at a sixth inning comeback despite the game being delayed 75 minutes due to late-arriving umpires.
Monticello's lone run came in the fourth inning when they scored off a wild pitch by Williams who had come on in relief of Grader Roderick Rhodes, who pitched three scoreless innings to start things off.
Williams recovered from giving up the run to strike out five of the next six batters he faced.
The Pups had a chance to jump ahead of the Hurricanes in the fifth when they had the bases loaded, but they weren't able to bring in any runs.
"Roderick pitched one heck of a game," McSherry said. "You would never know this was his first time out there."
"We had our share of opportunities to score some runs, but we just couldn't get the big hit at the right time," McSherry said. "It was a tough loss for these boys today," he said. "Not a great way to open the season."
But now the Pups have thing on the right track just in time to head into their home opener Friday when they host Carver at 4:30 p.m.
"We are looking forward to our home opener," said McSherry.