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By: Kevin Kyzar
WESSON – The Co-Lin Baseball team returned to action playing host to Holmes in a conference play doubleheader on Sunday, March 27. The Wolves swept the Bulldogs taking game one in come-from-behind fashion, 13-12, and game two, 11-1.
Game One
The Wolves faced a big deficit early in the game as the Bulldogs plated five runs in the top of the first inning to take a 5-0 lead. However, the Wolves responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning as Tom Biggs (Columbia, La.) led off taking the first pitch he saw and driving it over the center field fence for a solo home run for his fourth home run of the season. Gavin Brogden (Brookhaven) then drew a walk, advanced to third on a single by Josh Boone (Foxworth) and scored as Jordan McKenzie (Franklinton, La.) ground into a double play making the score, 5-2.
The Bulldogs increased their lead to 6-2 with a solo run in the top of the second inning. The Wolves added a solo run in the bottom of the third to cut the lead down to 6-3 as Biggs hit a lead-off double and then scored on a single by Boone. The Bulldogs increased their lead to 8-3 with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth.
However, the Wolves responded with three runs in the bottom half of the fourth as Harrison Mohead (Madison) was hit-by-pitch to lead off the inning. DJ Walker (Brandon) then took one swing of the bat and drove a 3-1 pitch over the center field fence for a two-run home run, his second of the season, and second home run of the game for the Wolves making the score, 8-5. Biggs then hit a two-out single, stole second, and scored on a single by Brogden making the score, 8-6.
The Bulldogs once again pushed their lead to five runs at 11-6 as they scored three runs in the top of the sixth, but the Wolves responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead back down to two runs at 11-9. Kade Parker (Cadeville, La.) hit a lead-off double, advanced to third on a dropped third strike play, and then scored on a wild pitch. Braydon Muse then singled as Biggs followed up by taking one swing of the bat and driving a 1-0 pitch over the right field fence for a two-run home run, his second of the game and fifth of the season, and the third home run of the game for the Wolves.
The Wolves then scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh bringing the game to a tie at 11-11 as Muse drew a two-out walk and then scored on an RBI triple by Biggs who then scored on an RBI double by Brogden. The Bulldogs regained the lead with a single run in the top of the eighth; however, the Wolves tied the game again at 12-12 matching the solo run scored in the bottom half of the inning. McKenzie drew a lead-off walk and then was replaced by pinch runner Wade Nichols (Brandon) who then stole second, advanced to third on a groundout by Brady Spring (Brookhaven), and then score on an RBI groundout by Reed Barlow (Florence)
The Wolves capped off the come-from-behind win in the bottom of the ninth as Walker reached base on a dropped third strike, advanced from first to third on an error, and then scored the game-winning run on a passed ball to give the Wolves a 13-12 win in game one.
Tom Biggs had a huge performance at the plate for the Wolves in game one going 5-for-5 with one double, one triple, two home runs, and led the team in RBIs with four. Gavin Brogden also had a perfect performance at the plate going 4-for-4 with one double, three RBIs, and one walk (reaching base in all five plate appearances). Josh Boone and DJ Walker had two hits each while Jordan McKenzie, Kade Parker, and Brayden Muse had one hit apiece as the Wolves totaled 16 hits including one home run for Walker. Walker also had two RBIs while Barlow had one RBI during game one.
Kade May (Florence) got the start for the Wolves and earned a no-decision allowing seven runs on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks in three innings pitched. Andrew Smith (Morton) pitched 1.2 innings of relief allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts and one walk, while Noah Freeman (Mendenhall) pitched 2.2 innings of relief allowing four runs, two earned, on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Cooper Williams (Madison) pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief and picked up the win, improving to 1-0 on the season, allowing one hit with one strikeout.
“Our guys really swung the bats well all day, specifically Tom Biggs,” stated Co-Lin head coach Clay Smith. “We got down early in game one, but our bullpen did a great job of keeping us in the ballgame. We were able to take advantage of their mistakes which kept us batting in key situations throughout the game.”
Game Two
The second game of the doubleheader saw the Wolves start the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second breaking a scoreless tie as Harrison Mohead drew a two-out walk, stole second, and then scored on a double by DJ Walker. Walker then advanced to third on a single by Colton Womack (Liberty) and scored on an RBI-single by Braydon Muse making the score, 2-0.
The Bulldogs scored their lone run of the game in the top of the third cutting the Wolves lead down to 2-1. However, the Wolves matched the Bulldogs with a single run in the bottom of the third as Gavin Brogden hit a lead-off single, advanced to third on a double by Jordan McKenzie, and then later scored on an error making the score, 3-1.
The big inning for the Wolves came in the bottom of the fourth as they scored five runs started off by a lead-off single by Womack who was then forced out as Muse reached on a fielder’s choice. Tom Biggs then took one swing of the bat and drove a 1-0 pitch over the right field fence for a two-run home run (his third home run of the doubleheader) making the score, 5-1. Brogden then drew a walk, stole second, and scored on an RBI-double by Josh Boone who advanced to third on a passed ball while McKenzie drew a walk. Boone then scored on a sacrifice fly by Brady Spring while McKenzie scored on a single by Mohead making the score, 8-1.
The Wolves increased their lead to 9-1 with a solo run in the bottom of the fifth as Muse and Biggs drew back-to-back walks. Muse and Biggs then stole third and second respectively while Muse then later scored on a sacrifice fly by Boone. The final two runs for the Wolves came in the bottom of the sixth as Spring hit a lead-off single and advanced to second as Reed Barlow drew a walk. Both runners then advanced to third and second respectively on a passed ball while Spring scored on a sacrifice fly by DJ Walker. Colton Womack then delivered the walk-off hit with an RBI-single, scoring Barlow. The 11-1 game two win secured the sweep of the Bulldogs for the Wolves.
Colton Womack led the Wolves offense in game two and was the only member of the team with a multi-hit game going 3-for-4 at the plate. Tom Biggs, Gaving Brogden, Josh Boone, Jordan McKenzie, Brady Spring, Harrison Mohead, DJ Walker, and Brayden Muse got one hit apiece as the Wolves totaled 11 hits with each member of the starting lineup getting at least one hit including one double each for Walker, McKenzie, and Boone along with one home run for Biggs. Biggs, Boone, and Walker led the team in RBIs with two each while Spring, Mohead, Womack, and Muse had one RBI apiece.
Kade Parker got the start for the Wolves and improved to 2-2 overall with the complete game win. Parker allowed one run on seven hits with nine strikeouts.
“Kade Parker was really good on the mound in game two,” said Smith. “He got into trouble a few time but pitched his way out of it when he did. Again, I thought that we swung the bats really well during the second game of the doubleheader.”
“That was a big sweep for us and it gets us back to .500 in league play,” added Smith.
Co-Lin is now 10-15 overall and 5-5 in conference play. The Wolves return to action playing host to Meridian in a conference play doubleheader on Tuesday, March 29. First pitch between the Eagles and the Wolves is set for 3 p.m., at Sullivan Field.
Photo is of Tom Biggs, photo by Natalie Davis.
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