Wolves Split Home Opener Against Warriors

WESSON – The Co-Lin Baseball team played host to Rend Lake Community College for their home opener and the first games played at newly renovated Sullivan Field on Friday, February 10. The Wolves split with the Warriors taking game one, 3-0, and dropping game two 7-1.

GAME ONE

The Warriors got a two-out single in the bottom of the first, but Kade May (Florence) picked off the baserunner later in the inning for the final out. The Wolves then loaded the bases with a leadoff walk by Josh Boone (Foxworth), a single by Tyler Wolfe (Covington, La.), and a walk by Christian Cameron (Brandon); however, the potential scoring threat was quickly ended with three straight strikeouts to keep the game scoreless.

The Warriors then went three up and three down in the second inning including back-to-back strikeouts by May. The Wolves once again loaded the bases with no outs as Hayden Babineaux (Church Point, La.) and Braydon Evans (Florence) drew back-to-back walks while Brentley Berry (Magee) singled. The Wolves then had two batters go down on back-to-back strikeouts, but the Wolves then scored as Cameron drew a four-pitch walk, his second of the game, to score Babineaux and give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.

Kade May then locked in for the Wolves and allowed just one hit over the next three innings but would get his second picked off runner of the game after the single in the top of the fifth. May allowed the final hit for the Warriors in the top of the sixth, a two-out single, and then forced a fly out to end the inning as the Wolves scored their final two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Evans got the offense started reaching base when he was hit by a pitch and then advanced to second as Berry drew a walk. Boone and Wolfe then hit back-to-back doubles scoring Evans and Berry and increasing the Wolves lead to 3-0. May came back out for the final inning of the game and gave up a two-out walk, but then struck out the next batter to seal the 3-0 victory for the Wolves.

The Wolves had six hits as a team as Josh Boone, Tyler Wolfe, and Brentley Berry had two hits each while the Wolves also drew seven walks as a team with Boone, Berry, Hayden Babineaux, and Brayden Evans had one walk each while Christian Cameron had three. Boone, Wolfe, and Cameron had one RBI each for the Wolves.

Kade May pitched a gem for the Wolves as he got the start. The sophomore threw a complete game, three-hit shutout in the winning effort to move to 1-0 with seven strikeouts and one walk.

GAME TWO

The second game of the doubleheader got off to a much different start for the Wolves as they scored what would ultimately be their only run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Brentley Berry got the Wolves offense started with a one-out single and advanced to second on a throwin error during the play. Berry then advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on another passed ball later in the inning to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.

Both starting pitchers then locked in for their respective teams and allowed just two combined baserunners over the next two innings. The Warriors tied the game with a solo run in the top of the fourth and then gained the lead with four runs in the top of the fifth to take a 5-1 lead over the Wolves.

The Warriors then held the Wolves to just four hits across the last three innings while adding two more runs in the top of the seventh to secure a 7-1 win and a split for the Wolves.

The Wolves had five hits as a team as Braden Freeman (Terry) was the only one with a multi-hit game going 2-for-3 at the plate while Josh Boone, Brentley Berry, and Harrison Mohead (Madison) had one hit each.

Cooper Williams (Madison) got the start for the Wolves and picked up the loss moving to 0-1 on the season. Williams pitched 4.2 innings allowing three runs, all earned, on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Connor Pittman (Waynesboro) pitched 1.1 innings of relief allowing two unearned runs on three hits with five strikeouts while Andin Bolen (Lucedale) pitched one inning of relief allowing two runs, all earned, on three hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

Co-Lin is now 2-2 overall and will return to action with a pair of road games on Sunday, February 12. The Wolves will face off against Pensacola State and Delgado on the campus of Delgado Community College at Noon and 2 p.m., respectively.