Robbie Tillman gives Columbus extra-inning walk-off win over Shaw

For the second straight day, Columbus center fielder Robbie Tillman was the hero for the Blue Devils.

After scoring the only run in the Blue Devils 1-0 victory against Hardaway on Thursday, Tillman came through again for his team on Friday. With the bases loaded in the eighth inning, Tillman hit a single to left field, scoring Ben Schorr to give Columbus a 2-1 walk-off win over Shaw.

Tillman went 1-for-4 with an RBI in the victory.

The latest region win for Columbus (15-10) fit the bill of another low-scoring contest, which has been the case in several of the team’s most recent matchups. The Blue Devils fell behind Shaw 1-0 in the top of the fifth, when Anthony Torres hit an RBI single to bring Miquail Harvey home. Schorr answered in the bottom of the sixth, hitting an RBI single to tie the game.

From there, the scoring stopped until Tillman took to the batter’s box.

Tillman’s hit finished off a strong eighth inning for the Columbus offense. Schorr’s one-out double got the Blue Devils going, and consecutive walks by Trent Swinehart and Clayton Duncan loaded the bases. Two batters later came Tillman, who took the second pitch to the outfield.

Both starting pitchers made short work of the opposition for most of the game. Jonathan Brand pitched all eight innings for the Blue Devils, giving up five hits while notching 10 strikeouts. Brian Trepainer handled the workload for the Raiders through seven innings, also only giving up five hits while putting up six strikeouts.

Trepainer hit the 110-pitch limit to close the seventh inning, forcing him to leave the game in favor of Lakeman.

Shaw (11-11) came up just short in what was another highly competitive matchup with the Blue Devils. The Raiders got the upperhand against Columbus in the first meeting on March 23, winning that game 4-1.

Columbus’ latest victory only helps the team build momentum as it tries to catch Northside in a tight subregion race within Region 1-4A. The Blue Devils play Harris County on Tuesday before ending the regular season against the Patriots on Thursday.

Shaw, meanwhile, finishes the regular season with a game at Carver on Tuesday and a showdown against Hardaway on Thursday.

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 7:57 PM with the headline "Robbie Tillman gives Columbus extra-inning walk-off win over Shaw."