Swainsboro pitchers kept the Statesboro bats off balance all night, blanking the Blue Devils and walking away with a 10-0 victory Monday evening at Mill Creek Regional Park.

            Tigers starter Tyler Brown was masterful in notching the win – striking out four and allowing just three hits in four solid innings of work.

            Kyle Henry was able to close things out, pitching out of a seventh-inning jam to preserve the shutout.

            “(Swainsboro’s pitchers) did a great job,” said Statesboro coach Chris Bishop. “They hit their spots and threw strikes all night. That’s exactly what you need to do to be successful.”

            Swainsboro got all the runs it needed in the top of the second.

            With Calk Minick on in relief of Statesboro starter Trey Robinson – the Devils used the non-region game as an opportunity to get all of their pitchers work without overtaxing them - Kyle Williams was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame.

            After Minick recorded a strikeout, Justin Hodges and Josh Bowen each singled, with Bowen’s hit driving in Williams for the game’s first run.

            Damon Cochran then ripped a double down the right field line to score Hodges, and Bowen was brought in by a Henry RBI groundout to give the Tigers a 3-0 edge.

            The Devils had their best chance to answer in the bottom half of the second.

            Connor Reed singled and Ben Saunders drew a walk to put the first two Statesboro batters aboard, and both advanced on a wild pitch.

            But, as he did all night, Brown had the answer. The righty fanned the next two Blue Devils and then coaxed Minick into a soft grounder to end the inning and keep Statesboro off the board.

            “I think we were pressing a little,” said Bishop. “We came out flat, and sometimes, when that happens, you try to do too much all at once to make up for it. We were lacking focus at the plate, and that really hurt.”

            In the top of the fourth, the Tigers rallied for two singles, two walks and a hit batter off of Kendrick Thompson – good to extend the Swainsboro lead to 5-0.

            Todd Cone was summoned from the bullpen and managed to put out the fire, striking out all three batters that he faced in the inning to keep the damage to a minimum.

            The effectiveness wouldn’t last into the fifth inning though.

            Cone recorded two quick outs, but a walk and a hit batter set the table for an RBI double by Henry, and a two-run single by Brian Hackle pushed the Swainsboro lead to 8-0 and chased the Statesboro pitcher from the game.

            One bright spot for Statesboro’s pitching staff Monday evening was freshman right-hander Tyler Brown.

            Making his first varsity appearance, Brown went the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing just a pair of unearned runs to close out the scoring.

            “I was very impressed with how Tyler handled himself out there,” said Bishop. “He got us some tough outs, and really shouldn’t have given up any of those runs.”

            Statesboro will try to get back on the winning path Wednesday as the Devils travel to Reidsville for a matchup with Tattnall County at 5:45 p.m.

            Mike Anthony can be reached at (912) 489-9404.