Claflin was all smiles heading into their April Fools' Day game against Edward Waters.

But, when it was all said and done, it was no laughing matter as the Tigers topped the Panthers 11-5.

After two singles to center field in the top of the first inning, Mo Turknett scored the Tigers' first run as Bryan Joseph grounded out to shortstop.

Edward Waters (27-14) extended their lead against Claflin starting pitcher Norman O'Neal. After a fielding error by Shannon Ransom, Jamie Parrott scored on a two-out double to right by Brandon Barrington to make it 2-0. Turknett followed that with a RBI single to center. Sherman Ferguson chipped in during the next at-bat with a two-run home run to lift the Tigers to a 5-0 lead to end O'Neal's day.

"The main point was to come out and be aggressive," Tigers head coach Kerby Marshall. "The guys came out and did a great job in doing that."

With two outs, Randall Hanna got the ball rolling for the Panthers in the bottom of the third with a triple off the center field wall. He scored on a RBI single to right by Eric Jordan making it a 5-1 game.

Brooks' day ended prematurely due to soreness in his pitching arm. He allowed four hits and a run while striking out five and walking two in five innings.

Once Brooks left, the Panthers began another rally. After two walks and a sacrifice bunt, Hanna scored on a wild pitch making it 5-2. Hyatt went on to walk Reggie Taylor and plunk Wes Platts. During the next at-bat, Jordan scored on a fielder's choice to make it 5-3. Taylor made it 5-4 after scoring on a Trivon Howard single.

The Tigers fought to remain ahead in the sixth inning. Hyatt got on base thanks to a lead-off walk. Following an infield single and a fielder's choice, Hyatt scored on a Tyler Parrott sacrifice fly to right giving Edward Waters a 6-4 advantage.

Paul Carpenter responded for the Panthers in their half of the sixth with a solo shot over the foul pole in left making it 6-5.

Edward Waters proved to be too strong for Claflin as the game went on. Hyatt helped his own cause with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh giving the Tigers an 8-5 lead. Thanks to two more errors for Ransom at shortstop, the Tigers were able to add three more run in the top of the eighth.

Meanwhile, the Panthers (18-16) couldn't come up with any answers to combat the Tigers' offensive attack.

"Their pitchers did a good job of mixing it up," Claflin head coach James Randall said. "They threw a lot of off-speed (pitches) and they ran fastballs in with good location. They really kept us off-balance and this is good for a good team. We need to see that kind of good pitching to get us ready."

Despite having their four-game winning streak snapped, Randall sees the loss as a learning experience for his players heading into Thursday's doubleheader against Voorhees starting at 1 p.m.

"We just weren't ready to play today," he said. "We were just dragging around. We had oppourtunities to take control of the game and didn't take advantage of our opportunities. We were a little sluggish today, but we'll get it back. We'll be ready on Thursday."

-- T&D Sports Writer Emery Glover can be reached by e-mail at eglover@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532. Check out his blog, Cover 2, at www.thetandd.com. --

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