Cornersville baseball coach Ben Putman was unable to get the better of his alma mater on Thursday afternoon, as his previously undefeated Bulldog squad lost 12-1 at home to the Pirates of Rogers, AL.

The Bulldogs had yielded an average of just 2.7 runs per game in their previous six contests, but were unable to slow down the Pirates on Thursday, as Rogers banged out 15 hits against two Cornersville hurlers to go along with four CHS errors.

Raleigh Killen led the Pirates' offensive onslaught by going 3-for-4 with a RBI and three runs scored, while Russell Young (2 RBI), Briley Reeves (2 RBI), Caleb Morrow (1 RBI), Holden Mitchell (1 RBI), and Tanner Shaw tallied two hits apiece.

Bulldog starting pitcher Cody Blackburn suffered the loss after giving up six runs on nine hits over six innings to go along with four strikeouts.

Silent bats

Having averaged eight runs per game in their five contests, Cornersville saw their bats go silent against Rogers and finished with a modest six hits against Pirate starting pitcher Colin Chamblin and reliever Hunter Collier. Tate Lowery and Aaron Fox each notched two hits to pace the Bulldogs at the plate, while Tyler Lowery and Neil Davis both had one hit.

Chamblin picked up the victory on the mound for Rogers, allowing four hits and a walk in six scoreless innings of work. The Pirate defense also aided their pitching staff's cause by turning two double plays and committing no errors.

"It really wasn't that big a deal to face my old high school because I don't have that many connections over there anymore," said Putman. "I don't think we had a letdown today because Rogers just played well and beat us. We ran into a pretty good ball team."

Stealing away

The Pirates got off to a fast start and grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a hit batsman, a single by Killen, and a Reeves two-run double.

Rogers then opened up a 5-0 advantage in the third inning by pushing across three runs in the frame with the help of a triple by Shaw, a Morrow RBI single, an infield single by Killen, a CHS error, and a Mitchell RBI single.

In the top of the sixth, the Pirates stretched their lead to 6-0 when Mitchell scored on a Hank Thigpen RBI double after singling, stealing second, and advancing to third on a groundout by Graham Herston.

Problems grow

Things went from bad to worse for Cornersville in the top of the seventh, as Rogers crossed home plate six times in the inning on the strength of a RBI single by Killen, a Bulldog throwing error, and a pair of two-run doubles by Young and Alex Woodard to forge a 12-0 advantage.

CHS spoiled the Pirates shutout bid by plating a run in the bottom of the seventh. After Davis and Fox both singled, Jody Sullivan drew a walk to load the bases with one out before pinch runner Nate Huitt scored on a RBI groundout by David Looney for the 12-1 final.