Wolves Get First Conference Play Sweep Against Tigers

WESSON – The Co-Lin Baseball team returned to action hosting Northeast Mississippi on Saturday, March 23. The Wolves swept the Tigers taking game one, 7-4, and then hit three home runs in the game two win, 6-4.

GAME ONE

The Wolves got on the board first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning as Tucker Jones (Brandon) was hit-by-pith with one out to get the offense going. After Jones stole second, Hagan Coumbe (Utica) drew a walk while Jordan McKenzie (Franklinton, LA) was hit-by-pitch to load the bases.

Brentley Berry (Magee) then drew a walk scoring Jones while Coumbe then scored as Jon David Weed (Terry) was hit-by-pitch to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead. The inning then came to an end after the Tigers made a double play.

The Wolves maintained their 2-0 lead through the fourth, but the Tigers plated two runs in the top of the fifth tying the game at 2-2. The Wolves responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh as Spencer Wilson (McComb) drew a leadoff walk.

Braden Freeman (Terry) was then brought in as a pinch runner and advanced to second on a single by Isaac McClenty (Ridgeland). Freeman then scored as Sawyer Dunn (Magee) reached on an error while McClenty later scored on the same play to give the Wolves a 4-2 lead. However, the Tigers matched the Wolves with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to tie the game at 4-4.

The Wolves responded immediately by taking the lead with three runs in the bottom of the eighth as Weed was hit-by-pitch while Brayden Bankston (Terry) drew a walk to put two runners on with no outs. Weed was then forced out at third as Braydon Evans (Florence) reached on a fielder's choice. Later in the inning, Dunn was hit-by-pitch to load the bases with two outs for the Wolves while Jones then drew a walk scoring Bankston and giving the Wolves a 5-4 lead. Dunn and Jones then scored on a two-out, two RBI single by Coumbe increasing the Wolves lead to 7-4.

The Tigers were then retired in order in the ninth to secure the 7-4 victory for the Wolves.

Tucker Jones, Hagan Coumbe, and Isaac McClenty had one hit each to represent the three hits the Wolves had in the game one win. Coumbe led the Wolves in RBIs with two while Jones, Brentley Berry and JD Weed had one RBI each.

Andin Bolen (Lucedale) got the start for the Wolves and picked up a no-decision while pitching 4.2 innings and allowing two runs, both earned, on three hits with four walks and nine strikeouts. Lucas Harrington (Youngsville, LA) picked up the win in relief improving to 2-0 overall while pitching 3.1 innings and allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Jayden Duncan (Foxworth) picked up his first save of the season pitching one scoreless and hitless inning of relief with one strikeout.

GAME TWO

The second game of the day was a pitcher's duel in the early innings as the two starters allowed just seven combined baserunners in the first three and a half innings. However, the Wolves broke through first with a single run in the bottom of the fourth as Tucker Jones hit a leadoff single and then scored on an RBI groundout by Hagan Coumbe giving the Wolves a 1-0 lead.

The Wolves then added a pair of runs on two big swings in the bottom of the fifth as JD Weed stepped up to the plate and hit a no-doubter solo home run, his team-leading third of the season, on the first pitch of the inning to increase the lead to 2-0. Later in the inning, Isaac McClenty, his first of the season, crushed a full count pitch over the fence in left centerfield to increase the lead to 3-0.

The Wolves doubled their lead in the bottom of the fifth as Coumbe got the offense going with a one-out double. Jordan McKenzie then drew a walk to put two runners on with one out for the Wolves. Brentley Berry then stepped up and smashed a 1-0 pitch down the left field line for a three-run home run, his first of his career, to give the Wolves a 6-0 lead.

The Tigers then plated four runs in the top of the seventh and had the tying run at the plate, but a caught stealing ended the game securing the 6-4 game two win and sweep for the Wolves.

The Wolves totaled eight hits as a team with JD Weed the only member of the team with multiple hits going 2-for-2 at the plate while Sawyer Dunn, Tucker Jones, Hagan Coumbe, Brentley Berry, Brayden Bankston, and Isaac McClenty had one hit each. Berry led the Wolves in RBIs with three while Coumbe, Weed, and McClenty had one RBI each.

Connor Pittman (Waynesboro) got the start for the Wolves and improved to 5-3 overall while pitching six innings and allowing four runs, all earned, on five hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. Jayden Duncan picked up his second save of the season with one inning of scoreless relief with two hits and one strikeout.

Co-Lin improves to 16-16 overall, 4-4 in conference play and returns to action on the road against No. 1 East Central on Tuesday, March 26. First pitch between the Wolves and Warriors is set for 4 p.m., at Clark/Gay Baseball Complex in Decatur.