Wolves Split Conference Opener

WESSON – The Co-Lin Baseball team took to the road to open MACCC play against Coahoma on Wednesday, March 13. The Wolves and Tigers split the doubleheader as the Wolves dominated game one for a 17-1 win, while a late rally came up short in game two resulting in a 4-3 win for the Tigers.

GAME ONE

After a scoreless first inning, the Wolves broke through with a pair of runs in the top of the second as Donovan Moore (Bude) was hit-by-pitch, Evan Holifield (Stringer) singled, and Bradley Hanlon (Monroe, LA) reached on an error to load the bases with no outs. Later in the inning, Reise Thomas (Florence) delivered a two-out, RBI-single scoring Holifield while Hanlon scored on a passed ball to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead.

The Wolves added three runs in the top of the third as Lucas Harrington (Youngsville, LA) drew a leadoff walk and then advanced to third on a double by Trey Davidson (Brandon). Harrington then scored on an RBI single by Moore while Davidson advanced to third on the play. After Moore stole second, Holifield hit an RBI groundout scoring Davidson while an error on the play allowed Moore to score and pushed the lead to 5-0.

The lone run for the Tigers came in the bottom of the fourth cutting the lead down to 5-1. The Wolves added two runs to their lead in the top of the sixth as Avery Griffin drew a leadoff walk. After Griffin stole second, Thomas reached safely on a fielder's choice while Griffin advanced to third on the play. Griffin then scored on a sacrifice fly by Tucker Jones (Brandon) while Thomas scored as Harrington reached base on an error pushing the lead to 7-1.

The Wolves added three runs in the top of the seventh as Holifield was hit-by-pitch to start the inning. Hanlon then followed with a single while Holifield advanced to third on the play and Hanlon took second. Holifield then scored on an RBI-single by Sam Cook (Shubuta) while Griffin hit a two-RBI single scoring Hanlon and Cook to increase the lead to 10-1.

The final seven runs for the Wolves came in the top of the ninth as Gavin Bledsoe (Brandon) drew a leadoff walk. Cook then stepped up to the plate, took one swing of the bat, and crushed a 0-1 pitch for a two-run home run to increase the lead to 12-0. Griffin, Dylan Wesson (Brandon), and Jones then hit three straight singles to load the bases with no outs. Griffin then scored as Harrington drew a walk while Wesson and Jones scored on a two-RBI single by Davidson making the lead 15-1. Harrington and Davidson scored the final two runs on two-RBI single by Caleb Brooks (Brandon) increasing the lead to 17-1. The Tigers then get two runners on with two outs, but a groundout ended the game and secured the victory for the Wolves.

The Wolves totaled 16 hits as a team with Tucker Jones and Sam Cook leading the way with three hits each while Trey Davidson and Avery Griffin had two hits apiece with Reise Thomas, Dylan Wesson, Donovan Moore, Caleb Brooks, Evan Holifield, and Bradley Hanlon having one hit each. Cook led the team in RBIs with three while Harrington, Davidson, Brooks, and Griffin had two RBIs apiece with Thomas, Jones, Moore, and Holifield adding one RBI each.

Cohen Weinhofer (Ocean Springs) got the start and improved to 3-2 with the win while pitching seven innings and allowing one earned run on three hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Dee Morgan (Tallulah, LA) made his season debut for the Wolves with two scoreless innings of relief allowing one hit with three strikeouts.

GAME TWO

The second game of the doubleheader started off the same way as the first with the Wolves scoring a pair of runs in the top of the second after a scoreless first inning. Caleb Brooks got the offense going with a one-out single and then advanced to second as Brady White (Ethel) reached on an error to put two runners on for the Wolves. After both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Avery Griffin they then scored as Reise Thomas reached on an error giving the Wolves a 2-0 lead.

However, the Tigers responded with a pair of run of their own in the bottom half of the inning while taking advantage of a Wolves error to tie the game, 2-2. The Tigers then took the lead, 4-2, with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. The Wolves looked to respond in the top of the fourth after getting two runners on with one out, but an inning-ending double play brought the potential rally to a halt with the Tigers holding their lead.

The Wolves then looked to mount a comeback attempt in the top of the seventh as Thomas hit a leadoff single to get the offense going. Later in the inning, Lucas Harrington reached base on an error to put two runners on with one out. Trey Davidson then delivered an RBI-single scoring Thomas and cutting down the lead to 4-3. However, the Tigers then got a strikeout followed by a fielder's choice to leave the tying run stranded on base and seal the win and split of the doubleheader.

The Wolves totaled seven hits in the game as Reise Thomas and Caleb Brooks had two hits apiece while Trey Davidson, Evan Holifield, and Avery Griffin had one hit each. Davidson recorded the only RBI for the Wolves.

Jennings Kimbrell (Flowood) got the start and took his first loss of the season (6-1) while pitching five innings and allowing four runs, three earned, seven hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Nash Sturdivant (Brandon) pitched two innings of scoreless and hitless relief with two strikeouts.

Co-Lin is now 17-10 overall, 1-1 in MACCC play, and will host Holmes for the MACCC home opener on Friday, March 14. First pitch between the No. 24 Bulldogs and the Wolves is set for 1 p.m., at Sullivan Field in Wesson.