There was once a time when Landrum was a puzzle for the Polk County baseball team. In the mid-2000s, Landrum seemed to have a lock on the rivalry.
Those days are gone.
On Monday night, the Wolverines brought out the big sticks and beat Landrum 17-5 in five innings to win their third straight game in the series.
The Wolverines jumped out to an early lead with a seven-run first inning. The exclamation point in the inning was a bases-clearing double by starting pitcher Alec Philpott, scoring three runs.
Polk added seven more runs in the second inning. This time it was Philpott’s big brother, Tyler, hitting a bomb over the left field fence to drive in three runs. In the third inning, Polk added its final three runs when Ryan Thomas hit a pinch-hit three-run homer.
After the game, head coach Ty Stott joked that he wished they’d save that kind of offensive night for conference rival Owen.
“You can’t decide when that kind of night happens,” he said.
He has been particularly proud of his pitching staff this early in the season. With Lucas Cash’s arm hurting and Jacob Painter out for the season, he’s down to three pitchers – Alec Philpott, Roberto Taft and Dakota Turner.
“They’ve stepped up and pitched their hearts out,” Stott said.
Philpott pitched three innings, allowing two runs and striking out four. Landrum scored two runs in the second inning and three in the fourth inning. Joseph Corn had a double and a triple with one RBI.
The big lead allowed Philpott to find his zone early.
“It was just a comforting lead,” the sophomore said. “The pressure was off so I was good to go.”
Even bigger, it was Philpott’s first win over rival Landrum.
“It’s nice (to get a win), especially beating Landrum,” he said. “It’s a big rivalry.”
Philpott moves to 2-0 on the season and the Wolverines are 4-1.