Pike Liberal Arts dug itself out of an early 2-0 deficit before exploding for 12  runs in the fourth inning to seal a five-inning, 17-7 blowout win over Crehshaw Christian Academy Monday night in Troy.

The win will provide momentum for the Patriots, who are set to enter area play Tuesday at Fort Dale.

“We did start slow, that’s something we really got to work on,” Pike Liberal Arts head coach Allen Ponder said. “Going into area play, you want to have momentum. These slow starts have to stop. Very proud of the way we rebounded and put some runs on the board, but we’ve got to do a better job early.”

The start to Monday’s game for Pike Liberal Arts was not ideal.

The Patriots conceded an early 1-0 lead to Crenshaw in the top of the first after a dropped third strike allowed a Crenshaw batter to reach first and a bad throw to first later in the inning scored the game’s first run.

In the top of the second, Crehshaw cushioned its lead, after an RBI single to center field drove in another run for the Cougars.

Despite the early 2-0 lead for Crenshaw, Pike Liberal Arts’ starter on the mound, Jarrett Jordan, was sound throughout the game, recording four strikeouts in the game’s first two innings.

In the third inning, the Patriots’ defense settled down and their offense got the bats going.

In the bottom of the third, Pike Liberal Arts jumped exploded for five runs to take the 5-2 run.

After three-straight Patriots reached on singles, Tucker Johnson drove in a run after being hit by a pitch.

One batter later, Murphy Renfroe stole home on a past ball, and two batters later, Adam Grice drove in two runs on a single.

After shutting out the Cougars in the top of the fourth, Pike Liberal Arts slammed the door shut on Crenshaw, scoring 12 runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a commanding 17-2 lead.

“I think guys are starting to understand that when you get up and you take pitches and you let pitches hit you, that those turn into runs,” Ponder said. “That’s something that we weren’t doing early. We were trying to get out of the way of pitches, but now we are starting to get hit by some pitches, lay down some bunts and manufacture runs.”