Voldness aids Evans in win over Trojans

The limelight rarely shines on the No. 9 hitter, but Eric Voldness was called on to explain his game-winning hit after 3 1/2 hours of baseball Friday.

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"E-Vo, over here," Evans coach Ricky Beale called, after his shortstop beat out a dribbler to defeat Lee County 4-3 in nine innings.

"Uh-oooh, Eric," his teammates yelled after him.

"I just put it in play and prayed to God I got a hit," Voldness said.

The win, which kicked off Evans' Diamond Day weekend, was the Knights' third consecutive win and came against a Trojans team that reached the 2007 Class AAAA state semifinals. Evans' undefeated start ended Saturday with a 12-7 loss to South Effingham, which finished 2007 in the Class AAA semifinals.

South Effingham also took out Lee County on Saturday to steal some of Evans' thunder, but Beale sounded pleased with Friday's win after his team overcame five errors.

"If we don't make those little mistakes, it's a lot different outlook," Beale told his team as it huddled about an hour before midnight. "You kept battling."

Lee County shut out Evans through five innings, but the Knights scored three runs in the sixth -- with only one hit.

The go-ahead run crossed when Evans' Teddy Leverett was hit in the backside with the bases loaded.

Evans junior Zack Minter struck out two in the seventh after giving up a leadoff triple, but then he walked two with eight pitches and gave up a game-tying hit to send the game to extra innings.

Evans continued to fight against South Effingham on Friday, pulling within a run after four innings. But a five-run Mustangs' sixth squashed hope of another come-from-behind win.

The Knights' Dexter Ivey hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth and bring Evans within a run. Beale's team tacked on two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, but it wasn't enough.

Evans played Tuesday against Harlem. The team will hit the road Thursday before taking the weekend off.