Dutch Fork High wins opener in Forest Acres baseball tourney

Dutch Fork arrived at the Forest Acres Classic with a goal of winning the tournament’s championship, and it got off on the right foot with a 7-1 win over Wilson Hall on Monday at A.C. Flora.

“We’re trying to play for a championship because that’s what we’re going to be doing later on,” Waites said. “We did a good job today. I would have liked to hit the ball a little better, but we’ll be back at it (on Tuesday).”

The Silver Foxes had seven hits.

Dutch Fork got a running start in the top of the first inning, as senior center fielder Lane Ecton led off with a bunt single, advanced to second when Ward Hacklen hit into the left field gap and scored the first run on Blake Smith’s hit to deep center.

Hacklen went home on a sacrifice fly from shortstop Branden Deans to make it 2-0. The Silver Foxes picked up a third run on the first of three Wilson Hall errors.

“It’s always good to put up a few runs first,” Ecton said. “It kind of sets the momentum for the game and we kind of jut keep rolling off of that.”

Dutch Fork added two runs on two hits in the third, and Ecton scored another run in the fourth on a passed ball.

The Barons stacked hits in the fourth when Edward McMillan and Charlton Commander each singled, but Dutch Fork erased the threat with a double play.

Wilson Hall got a run across in the fifth, with Brent Carraway scoring on a Robert James single.

Silver Fox pitcher TJ Shook struck out two and allowed two hits in five innings, picking up his third win of the season. Deans closed the game with four strikeouts.

“TJ Shook was sharp enough to take care of business today, and Branden Deans has only thrown about four innings for us this year, but we’re looking for him to help us out down the road and during the playoffs,” Waites said.

The Silver Foxes play Dreher on Tuesday, the second day of the Forest Acres Classic. Wilson Hall will play the host Falcons.