Wolves Walk Off Win Earns Split in Conference Opener

WESSON – The Co-Lin Baseball team returned to action hosting Gulf Coast in their MACCC opener on Wednesday, March 15. The Wolves and Bulldogs split the doubleheader with the Bulldogs taking game one, 8-2, while the Wolves earned a walk off win in game two, 5-4.

GAME ONE

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the top of the first. The Wolves looked to respond in the bottom half of the inning as Harrison Mohead (Madison) hit a two-out single, but Ryland Hemphill narrowly missed his first home run as he flew out to the Bulldogs left fielder to end the inning.

The Bulldogs then added one run in the top of the second to increase their lead to 3-0. The Bulldogs then took advantage of two errors by the Wolves to double their run total with three runs in the top of the fourth extending their lead to 6-0 and then added a single run in the top of the fifth to make the score 7-0.

The Wolves scored their two runs in the bottom of the seventh as Alford Hill (Isola) drew a leadoff walk, Sam Thomas (Ridgeland) singled, and Hayden Babineaux (Church Point, LA) walked to load the bases with no outs. Hill then scored on a passed ball while Thomas scored on an RBI groundout by Brentley Berry (Magee) making the score 7-2.

The final run for the Bulldogs scored in the top of the eighth increasing the lead to 8-2. The Wolves then had one hit across the final two innings as the Bulldogs sealed the game one win.

The Wolves totaled five hit as a team with Harrison Mohead going 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the way while Tyler Wolfe (Covington, LA) and Sam Thomas had one hit each. Brentley Berry had one RBI for the Wolves.

Connor Pittman (Waynesboro) got the start for the Wolves and moved to 1-1 on the season. Pittman pitched five innings allowing seven runs, three earned, on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts. Andin Bolen (Lucedale) pitched three innings of relief allowing one earned run on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts while Jayden Duncan (Foxworth) pitched one inning of scoreless relief with one strikeout.

"In the first game we did not play our best baseball with several walks and errors, which is not a great combination to win a baseball game," said Co-Lin head coach Adam Chamblee. "I thought Connor Pittman battled the whole game despite not having his best day on the mound and it was good to see Andin Bolen and Jayden Duncan have good performances out of the bullpen."

GAME TWO

The second game of the doubleheader started in a similar way as the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead with one run in the first and two runs in the second making the score 3-0.

However, the Wolves responded with three runs in the bottom of the second as Hagan Coumbe (Utica) hit a two-out single to get the offense going. Braydon Evans (Florence) then drew a walk while Hayden Babineaux stepped up and crushed a three-run home run for the Wolves, his first of the season and the first at Sullivan Field for the Wolves, to tie the game at 3-3.

The Wolves then took the lead with a single run in the bottom of the sixth as Harrison Mohead hit a leadoff single, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout by Christian Cameron (Brandon), and then scored on a passed ball making the score, 4-3.

The Bulldogs then tied the game at 4-4 with a single run in the top of the seventh. The scene was then set for the Wolves in the bottom of the seventh as Brentley Berry hit a two-out single giving Tyler Wolfe one more plate appearance. Wolfe then delivered with a single up that middle that struck second base, sending the ball into shallow right field, while Berry scored all the way from first on the play to secure the walk off game two win and split for the Wolves, 5-4.

The Wolves totaled six hits as a team with Brentley Berry going 2-for-3 at the plate while Tyler Wolfe, Harrison Mohead, Hagan Coumbe, and Hayden Babineaux had one hit each. Babineaux led the Wolves with three RBIs while Wolfe had one RBI.

Conner Wilson (Osyka) got the start for the Wolves and earned a no-decision pitching 1.2 innings allowed three runs, all earned, on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Wyatt Hodges (Brookhaven) pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief allowing two hits with one walk while Coby Gollot (Ocean Springs) picked up the win in a relief appearance and improved to 2-1 pitching 2.2 innings allowing one earned run on three hits with four strikeouts.

"I am extremely proud of how our guys battled and found a way to win this game," stated Chamblee. "It was not what anyone would call a pretty win, but it is still a win, and we will never take those for granted. Hayden Babineaux deserves a ton of credit to tie the game early with his three-run home run that tied the game at that time."

"Just like in the first game, we saw a couple of solid performances from our guys out of the bullpen," added Chamblee. "Wyatt Hodges and Coby Gollot did their job and kept us in the game allowing Tyler Wolfe to get that single and allow things to fall our way for the win."

Co-Lin is now 7-17 overall, 1-1 in conference play, and will return to action hosting Northwest Mississippi on Saturday, March 18. First pitch between the Rangers and the Wolves is set for 2 p.m., at Sullivan Field.