Pearson's slams get Garland to 200.

Byline: Ward Gossett

Mar. 17--Friday is a day Soddy-Daisy baseball coach Steve Garland and Trojans hitter Kenny Pearson will long remember. Garland picked up his 200th career coaching win and was in the third-base coach's box as Pearson hit two grand slams to lead the Trojans' 15-6 win over White County. The two milestones came in the opener of Hixson's Wildcat Outback Classic. The Trojans had been hammering the baseball in preseason scrimmages but were handcuffed in a season-opening loss to Baylor. The handcuffs were nowhere in sight Friday. "I don't know what to say," said Garland, who is rarely at a loss for words. "I have felt good about our offense, but we need to hit consistently." The Trojans, aided by consecutive errors on balls hit by their first three batters, erupted for 11 first-inning runs including Pearson's first grand slam. "it takes a lot of pressure off your young pitchers when you score like that," Garland said. "I don't know if we'll hit like that in every game, but we need to hit consistently." He can only hope Pearson will continue to hit like this. "He had a hit the other day at Baylor, but those two today were really the first hard-hit balls he has had," Garland said. "It would be a pretty hard day to match," Pearson said. "I've had some big games before, but nothing as big as this. I try not to think about stats too much. They just get in the way." Other schools may have transfers, but none likely have come from as far away as Pearson, who transferred to Soddy-Daisy in January 2006 from Ketchikan, Alaska. "I felt I had maxed out academically and athletically, and I started looking at schools," said Pearson, who has scored a 32 (of a possible 36) on the ACT. "My grandparents live in Sale Creek, and I found out a lot about Soddy-Daisy by looking on the Internet. I talked with Coach Garland by phone several times and decided to make the move." Pearson wasn't the only contributor Friday for Soddy-Daisy. Philip Conner had three hits and Dakota Price and Ryan Mullins each doubled and singled.

E-mail Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com

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