The Beggs Varsity Golden Demons continued their impressive spring campaign with dominant back-toback wins over Tishomingo and Kiefer, showcasing a balanced combination of power at the plate, sharp pitching and aggressive baserunning. Leading the charge in both contests was standout slugger Ranson Stephens, whose bat proved critical in each victory.
— Beggs 22, Tishomingo 0
It was a full-scale offensive eruption Thursday as the Golden Demons unleashed a 22-0 mercy-rule victory over the Tishomingo Indians, powered by a 14-run third inning and a four-RBI performance from Ranson Stephens.
Stephens tallied three hits, including a two-run double in the third and an RBI single in the fourth. He was one of several Demons to record multi-hit games.
Beggs opened strong in the bottom of the first with a sequence of singles. Dallas Wilson drove in the first run with a base hit, and the team never looked back.
In the second inning, Beggs extended their lead with five runs on three hits. Lane Kelly tagged up and scored, an error plated another, then Wilson struck again with a two-run double, followed by an RBI single from Colton McCoy.
Then came the monster third inning. Stephens opened the floodgates with a two-run double. A hit-by-pitch to Landon Helt and another to Wilson brought in two more runs. Colton McCoy, Jaxon Remington, Lane Kelly and Kevin Monteque all reached base via walks or singles, each bringing runners across the plate. McCoy capped off the inning with a two-run double, putting the exclamation mark on the onslaught.
On the mound, Landon Helt got the start and was near-perfect, allowing no runs and no hits in 2.2 innings of work while striking out two. Jaxon Remington closed out the game with 2.1 innings of relief, allowing just one hit and striking out two.
Offensively, Beggs finished with 13 hits and 11 walks. McCoy and Stephens led the way with three hits apiece, while Remington and Kelly each added multiple hits. Jerrett Hammer contributed with a team-high three walks, and Monteque swiped two bases to ignite the base paths.
— Beggs 5, Kiefer 1
Later that same day, the Golden Demons showed their grit in a much tighter affair, defeating the Kiefer Trojans 5-1 behind another key performance from Ranson Stephens and a dominant outing on the mound by Jerrett Hammer.
Stephens drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the fourth with an RBI single, giving Beggs a 2-1 lead. He finished the game 1-for-3 with two RBIs and two stolen bases.
Hammer delivered a stellar complete- game performance, tossing seven innings of one-run baseball while striking out nine and issuing no walks. He scattered three hits and was in command from start to finish.
Kiefer struck first in the third inning when Daxton Smith singled in a run, but the Demons answered immediately in the top of the fourth, eventually scoring three times to swing the momentum in their favor.
Beggs showed patience at the plate once again, drawing nine walks. Monteque and Kelly each earned two baseon- balls, and base-running aggression was again on full display as the team totaled five stolen bases.
Other offensive contributors included Lane Kelly, Kevin Monteque and Dallas Wilson, each collecting hits to keep Beggs moving around the bases.
