South Caldwell rallies past Watauga 4-3
by Steve Behr Sports Editor
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com
SAWMILLS - Watauga held a two-run lead, but could not keep it, allowing South Caldwell to claim a 4-3 victory in eight innings and Spartans Field.
The Pioneers (4-3, 1-1 NWC) were on the brink of beating South Caldwell when they led 3-2 with two outs in the bottom seventh inning. However, the Spartans (5-0, 2-0) underwent an unlikely rally, got an RBI single by No. 9 hitter Tyler Drurry, and then an RBI single by Tyler Bumgarner in the eighth inning to shock the Pioneers their third loss to come after the sixth inning this season.
"It was a tough night," Pioneers coach Pete Hardee said. "It was a good ballgame though five innings and then we had some mistakes that cost us. When you play a good quality club that's well-coached and has a tradition of winning, you can't let them have a chance and tonight we gave them some breaks late."
South Caldwell took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, but the Pioneers scored in the top of the third inning when Josh Wyant, who was hit by a Travis Cook pitch, scored on a Josh Roberts infield hit.
The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning when Baker Stanley drove in David Martin, who opened the inning with a double. Watauga added another run in the fifth when Max Linnville scored on a bizarre turn of events.
Wyant was caught in a run down between second and third, but managed to stay out of trouble just long enough for Linnville to go from home to second base.
After Wyant was tagged out, an attempt was made to get Linnville. The ball hit him in the foot, caromed into center field, and Linnville scored on the play.
"They gave us some breaks early," Hardee said. "I thought both pitchers pitched extremely well. The right hander for South kept us off-balance all night. He had a good change-up and curve ball and he threw it hard enough to keep us honest."
The Pioneers' lead was never completely safe. South Caldwell added an unearned run in the sixth to pull to within 3-2, but the Spartans had two outs in the bottom of the seventh when John Murphy walked, reached second on a wild pitch and scored on a Drurry single. Drurry had struck out his previous two at-bats.
South got the game winner when Byron Bowman, who had struck out in his three previous at-bats, reached base on an error, went to second on a wild pitch, to third when beat a threw to third after he was picked off by Martin, who was catching, and scored on Bumgarner's game-winning single.
"The same thing happened to us at North Davidson and at A.C. Reynolds," Pete Hardee said. "We've got to learn how to finish a game. We're a young team and we're learning how to win, but I'm still proud of them. They went toe-to-toe with South Caldwell tonight and we have a team that will compete and get after people. They play with high intensity and with a lot of heart."
Watauga settled for four hits, getting one each from Martin, Roberts, Matt Proffitt and Stanley. Cook struck out six Pioneers and got two diving catches from centerfielder Cody Reid, who robbed Linnville of a double in the first inning and Cal Hardee of a single in the eighth.
Hardee, who pitched for Watauga and took the loss, struck out eight, but walked seven. One of those was intentional in the eighth inning to give the Pioneers a force play when Bowman went to second base.
Watauga is scheduled to host Fred T. Foard Friday night, but the Pioneers' field is still showing signs of the winter storms.
S. Caldwell 4, Watauga 3 (8)
Watauga 001 110 00 - 3 4 2
South Caldwell 010 001 11 - 4 5 2
Hardee and Martin. Cook and Gray. W-Cook, L-Hardee (1-2). LOB-Watauga 4, South Caldwell 8. 2B-Watauga, Martin. SB-South Caldwell, Bowman. DP-Watauga 1.
sports@wataugademocrat.com
SAWMILLS - Watauga held a two-run lead, but could not keep it, allowing South Caldwell to claim a 4-3 victory in eight innings and Spartans Field.
The Pioneers (4-3, 1-1 NWC) were on the brink of beating South Caldwell when they led 3-2 with two outs in the bottom seventh inning. However, the Spartans (5-0, 2-0) underwent an unlikely rally, got an RBI single by No. 9 hitter Tyler Drurry, and then an RBI single by Tyler Bumgarner in the eighth inning to shock the Pioneers their third loss to come after the sixth inning this season.
"It was a tough night," Pioneers coach Pete Hardee said. "It was a good ballgame though five innings and then we had some mistakes that cost us. When you play a good quality club that's well-coached and has a tradition of winning, you can't let them have a chance and tonight we gave them some breaks late."
South Caldwell took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, but the Pioneers scored in the top of the third inning when Josh Wyant, who was hit by a Travis Cook pitch, scored on a Josh Roberts infield hit.
The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning when Baker Stanley drove in David Martin, who opened the inning with a double. Watauga added another run in the fifth when Max Linnville scored on a bizarre turn of events.
Wyant was caught in a run down between second and third, but managed to stay out of trouble just long enough for Linnville to go from home to second base.
After Wyant was tagged out, an attempt was made to get Linnville. The ball hit him in the foot, caromed into center field, and Linnville scored on the play.
"They gave us some breaks early," Hardee said. "I thought both pitchers pitched extremely well. The right hander for South kept us off-balance all night. He had a good change-up and curve ball and he threw it hard enough to keep us honest."
The Pioneers' lead was never completely safe. South Caldwell added an unearned run in the sixth to pull to within 3-2, but the Spartans had two outs in the bottom of the seventh when John Murphy walked, reached second on a wild pitch and scored on a Drurry single. Drurry had struck out his previous two at-bats.
South got the game winner when Byron Bowman, who had struck out in his three previous at-bats, reached base on an error, went to second on a wild pitch, to third when beat a threw to third after he was picked off by Martin, who was catching, and scored on Bumgarner's game-winning single.
"The same thing happened to us at North Davidson and at A.C. Reynolds," Pete Hardee said. "We've got to learn how to finish a game. We're a young team and we're learning how to win, but I'm still proud of them. They went toe-to-toe with South Caldwell tonight and we have a team that will compete and get after people. They play with high intensity and with a lot of heart."
Watauga settled for four hits, getting one each from Martin, Roberts, Matt Proffitt and Stanley. Cook struck out six Pioneers and got two diving catches from centerfielder Cody Reid, who robbed Linnville of a double in the first inning and Cal Hardee of a single in the eighth.
Hardee, who pitched for Watauga and took the loss, struck out eight, but walked seven. One of those was intentional in the eighth inning to give the Pioneers a force play when Bowman went to second base.
Watauga is scheduled to host Fred T. Foard Friday night, but the Pioneers' field is still showing signs of the winter storms.
S. Caldwell 4, Watauga 3 (8)
Watauga 001 110 00 - 3 4 2
South Caldwell 010 001 11 - 4 5 2
Hardee and Martin. Cook and Gray. W-Cook, L-Hardee (1-2). LOB-Watauga 4, South Caldwell 8. 2B-Watauga, Martin. SB-South Caldwell, Bowman. DP-Watauga 1.