The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

PRESCOTT-The WP Tigers kicked off their 2012 season with a 5-4 victory over the Pilot Rock Rockets last Saturday afternoon.

The Rockets wasted no time putting runs on the board capitalizing on a Tiger error to score their first run in the top of the first with one out.

A sacrifice bunt from the Rockets left them with two outs and one runner on, but the Rockets followed that up with a line drive down the first base line to score once more to put the Tigers down, 0-2 .

With two outs and one runner on, the Tigers' starting pitcher Zach Bartlow threw down his first strike out of the day to get the Tigers out of the inning before more damage could be done.

The Tigers went a quick three-up, three-down, and it was back to the field they went. The Tigers answered with their own three-up, three-down, on defense with Kyle Dozier making a diving save at second to throw out the first Rocket batter.

David Herzog followed that up with a catch in right, and it was Bartlow with his second "K" of the day to put the inning away and send the Tigers back to the plate to rattle the bats.

Herzog sent a fly ball to center for a single and he advanced to third off a line drive single to right field from Brice Paxson.

With runners on first and third and two outs, Devin Acevedo knocked a double to left to tie the game and began the first two-out rally of the day. But it was short lived as the Rocket mound got the best of Dozier and the Tigers were back on the field.

The Tigers kicked off the top of the third inning with a dribbler to the mound that Bartlow easily got to first for one down. Bartlow then kept the heat coming from the mound and chalked up his third strike out. He followed that up with another "K" that was dropped at the plate, but Tucker Alleman quickly recovered and threw the runner out at first.

The Tigers were at the top of the lineup, but suffered two quick outs before Dalton Estes was hit by a pitch and sent to first.

Estes used his stealthy base running to round the diamond and scored on a wild throw to first off a Herzog base hit on error, giving the Tigers their first lead of the day.

Herzog worked his way around the bases before he stole home on a wild pitch, but Paxson popped up to left for the Tigers third out.

The Rockets scored a quick run on a double play gone wrong, but the Tigers quickly recovered with two ground outs and another Bartlow "K".

The Tigers maintained their lead with the help of a triple from Bartlow in the bottom of the fifth and a sacrifice RBI from Estes to put the Tigers up, 5-3.

The Rockets fired back with a line drive to right followed by a sacrifice bunt that gave the Tigers one out. Another line drive down the first base line scored one for the Rockets, but Herzog scooped that up and nailed the runner at second for two down.

Some more Bartlow power from the mound produced a dribbler of a hit from the next Rocket batter who was easily thrown out at first to get the Tigers out of the inning up, 5-4, in the bottom of the sixth.

The Tigers could've used some cushion going into the seventh inning, but they were denied with another three-up, three-down, scenario.

The Tiger defense answered by nailing the first Rocket batter out at first and followed that up with yet another strike out from Bartlow. Estes grabbed a heater that the Rockets sent up the middle and beat the runner at first for the third out and a 5-4 Tiger victory.