Wolves Split Doubleheader Against Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Co-Lin Baseball team returned to action with a road doubleheader against Baton Rouge on Thursday, February 24. The Wolves and Bears split the doubleheader as the Wolves took game one, 12-4, while the Bears won the second game, 8-7.

Game One

The Wolves wasted no time in taking an early lead as they scored a pair of runs in the top of the first as Josh Boone (Foxworth) drew a lead-off walk and then Gavin Brogden (Brookhaven) singled advancing Boone to third. After Brogden stole second both Boone and Brogden later scored on consecutive passed balls to make the score 2-0.

The Wolves then plated four runs in the top of the second to increase their lead to 6-0 as Brady Spring (Brookhaven) got the offense going with a one-out single. Reed Barlow (Florence) then hit a two-out RBI triple to score Spring while Boone was hit-by-pitch. Brogden then stepped up and took one swing of the bat and drove a three-run home run to left field giving the Wolves the 6-0 advantage.

The Bears scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the second making the score 6-1. Neither team scored in the third or fourth innings, but the Wolves then plated two more runs in the fifth making the score 8-1 as Kenner Bizot (Wesson) drew a one-out walk and then scored on a triple by Tom Biggs (Columbia, La.) while Biggs later scored on a double by Kade Parker (Cadeville, La.).

The Wolves scored three runs in the sixth inning making the score 11-1 as Barlow hit a one-out single and then later advanced to third as Brogden hit a two-out double. Barlow then scored on an RBI single by Bizot while both Brogden and Bizot scored on an error after Biggs doubled.

The Bears added their final three runs in the bottom of the sixth cutting the Wolves lead down to 11-4 while the Wolves responded with a single run in the top of the seventh as Parker hit a lead-off single and then later scored on a single by Harrison Mohead (Madison). The Bears got a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh, but a double play ended the inning and sealed the 12-4 win for the Wolves.

Gavin Brogden had the biggest performance at the plate for the Wolves as he went 3-for-4 with a double, home run, and three RBIs. Tom Biggs, Kade Parker, and Reed Barlow all had two hits during the game with all three also getting one RBI each as Parker had one double, Barlow had one triple, and Biggs had one double and one triple. Kenner Bizot, Brady Spring, and Harrison Mohead had one hit each while Bizot and Mohead also collected one RBI each.

Kade May (Florence) got the start for the Wolves and improved to 2-1 on the season with the win. May pitched 5.1 innings allowing four earned runs on seven hits with one strikeout and two walks. Cooper Williams (Madison) pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief allowing two hits with one strikeout.

Game Two

The second game started the same way as the first with the Wolves scoring two runs in the top of the first as Josh Boone and Gavin Brogden drew back-to-back walks and then Kenner Bizot was hit-by-pitch to load the bases with no outs. Boone then scored on a single by Tom Biggs while Brogden later scored on a sacrifice fly by Kade Parker to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead.

However, the lead would be short-lived as the Bears plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game at 2-2 and then took a 4-2 lead with two more runs in the bottom of the second inning. The Wolves responded with a pair of runs in the third inning to tie the game once again at 4-4 as Biggs was hit-by-pitch with one out and then advanced to second as Jordan McKenzie (Franklinton, La.) reached base on an error. After Biggs advanced to third on a wild pitch and McKenzie stole second, Kade Parker singled while Biggs scored on an error during the play as McKenzie then scored on a double by Reed Barlow.

The Wolves then plated three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 7-4 lead as Grant Allen (Puckett) drew a lead-off walk while Boone followed up with a single. Brogden then reached on a fielder's choice as Allen was forced out on the play while Boone then scored on a single by Bizot. Biggs was then hit-by-pitch to load the bases then McKenzie was also hit-by-pitch scoring Brogden while Bizot then scored on a sacrifice fly by Parker.

The Bears then scored a single run in the bottom of the fourth and sixth innings to cut the lead down to 7-6. The Bears were able to keep the Wolves off the board after the fourth inning and completed the comeback with a two-out, two-RBI walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh to earn the hard-fought 8-7 win over the Wolves.

Josh Boone, Kenner Bizot, Tom Biggs, Kade Parker, and Reed Barlow accounted for the Wolves five hits during the second game as each got one hit apiece while the Wolves as drew seven walks and had five batters hit-by-pitch. Bizot, Biggs, Parker, Barlow, and Jordan McKenzie all collected one RBI each.

Tom Biggs got the start for the Wolves and picked up a no decision as he pitched 1.2 innings allowing four earned runs on three hits with two strikeouts and five walks. Conner Wilson (Osyka) pitched 3.2 inning of relief allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits with six strikeouts with one walk while Tanner Watts (Brookhaven) pitched 1.1 innings of relief and picked up the loss falling to 0-2 on the season. Watts allowed two earned runs on two hits with one strikeout and one walk.

Co-Lin is now 5-7 overall and the Wolves will return to action with the Coca-Cola/PowerAde Challenge against Southwest on Tuesday, March 1. The single game between the Bears and the Wolves will start at 6 p.m., at Sullivan Field.