[3/28/04]The booming bats of Porters Chapel propelled the Eagles to a 15-5 win over Columbia on Saturday, two days before the Eagles’ showdown with powerful Hillcrest Christian.

“We hit the ball hard all day today, and we found some holes,” Porters Chapel (15-0) coach Randy Wright said. “I was very pleased with our hitting today.”

The Eagles had 11 hits, including three home runs.

Pitcher Justin Boler hit a three-run shot in the first inning and another in the second, and Gerald Mims had a homer in the second, also a three-run shot.

The Eagles jumped on Columbia (4-13) pitcher Brandon McDaniel for 13 runs in the first two innings, scoring four in the first and nine in the second.

In the second inning, 12 batters went to the plate, and all but one PCA starter scored a run. McDaniel was relieved by Brett Farris, who finished the inning.

Boler pitched five innings to earn the win. He struck out nine and walked none. He scattered five hits and gave up only one earned run.

After earning the early lead, PCA’s offense ground to a halt, going 1-2-3 in the third and fourth innings. The Eagles didn’t have another hit the rest of the game.

“We got the big lead 13-2, and we lost focus and got a little sloppy,” Wright said. “That’s just something we’ve got to fix.”

Columbia was helped in the fourth by PCA’s errors, and turned those miscues into three runs.

After the shaky third and fourth innings, the Eagles came back in the fifth for two runs to end the game by way of the mercy rule.

Besides Boler’s and Mims’ homers, six other PCA players had hits in the game. Michael Shinn had a pair of singles, and Chip Lofton hit a double in the second inning.

This win kept the Eagles undefeated more than halfway through the season, but Wright said they don’t plan to let up anytime soon.

“We’re going to have to keep our focus, we’re going to have to understand that we have to come out and play every game,” he said.