By Myra Bean

The North Delta baseball team rounded out a good day against Kirk Academy with a district double header sweep Tuesday afternoon.

The Green Wave golf team won the Kirk Invitational; however, the tennis team fell 7-2 on their home courts.

As for the baseball team, the Green Wave  (8-6 overall, 4-4 district) used a five-run sixth inning to retake the lead and the win in the first game, 13-12.

Ethan Taylor went 1-for-6 on the day but his one hit was a grand slam blast in the nightcap to give the Green Wave a 10-0 five inning shutout.

Game One

Kirk took advantage of the tiring arm of starting pitcher Jim Tom Copeland in the fourth inning to pound out seven runs on four hits and take a 10-6 lead. However, the Green Wave also had four fielding errors which led to three unearned runs in the same inning.

It took a couple of innings as Kirk added two more runs in the sixth behind the pitching of Bailey Guckert for the Green Wave to climb back in the game.

In top of the sixth, the Green Wave bats went to work. The Green Wave had pulled within 12-8 with a run in each of the fourth and fifth innings.

The Green Wave loaded the bases on a single by Austin Gant, a ground rule double by Copeland whose ball bounced over the right field fence and Sy Pritchard who walked.

Guckert hit a RBI (run batted in) single scoring Gant and Copeland.

With two outs, Derrick Shawn doubled and sent home Pritchard and Guckert which tied the game at 12.

Shawn got to third and scored on two passed balls for the 13-12 lead.

Ethan “Bradford” Waldrip pitched the seventh inning retiring the first batter and heading up the double play for the second and third batters on a 1-6-3 play (Waldrip-Copeland-Luke Latham). The second batter had walked to get on base.

North Delta led 3-0 after the first on three runs by Shawn, Latham and Michael Magee. Kirk tied the game at three in top of third.

North Delta retook the lead 6-3 in bottom of the third.

Magee, who had singled, scored on a RBI single by Gant. Gant was on third by the way of two batters, Copeland and Dunlap, who were hit by pitches. Gant scored when Guckert was also hit by a pitch.

John Cody Dalrymple hit a sacrifice fly to center field and drove home Will Magee who was courtesy runner for Copeland for the third run.

Latham scored on a RBI single by Gant and Dalrymple scored on a RBI single from Shawn in the fifth.

Guckert picked up the win from the mound in two innings as he faced 13 batters, allowed three hits, two runs (one earned) and two walks. Waldrip got the save.

Copeland got a no-decision as he faced 25 batters in four innings, had three strikeouts, allowing eight hits, 10 runs (six earned) and two walks.

Game 2

North Delta used three pitchers in Game two who gave up one run each.

Renic Greenlee got the win on the mound pitching three innings and facing 11 batters. He also had two strikeouts.

Pritchard relieved Greenlee in the fourth, faced four batters and had two strikeouts. Waldrip pitched the fifth inning, faced four batters and had one strikeout.

Head coach Duke McCrory let the starters bat through the third inning and let the relievers carry the fourth.

Dalrymple went 3-for-3 with a double and three runs. Guckert was 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.

Latham was 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and a run.

Michael Magee was 1-for-3 with a triple, a RBI and a run. Shawn went 2-for-3 with a run and a RBI. Gant went 1-for-2 with a run.

Copeland went 1-for-2 with his second ground rule double of the day.

Dunlap went 1-for-2 with a run and Taylor went 1-for-2 with a grand slam home run.

The Green Wave were hoping to close out the district series with a sweep yesterday. The score was not available at press time.

The Green Wave will be out of district play on Monday when the varsity travels to Tunica for a game at 4 p.m. and then to Strayhorn for a game at 6 p.m. North Delta returns home Thursday for non-district varsity action against Strayhorn at 5 p.m.