Recent area baseball results: Cougars fall at Howard, Fullington cruises past John Hancock

Published 4:13 pm Friday, April 5, 2019

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CCHS comeback attempt falls one run short at Howard

A slight schedule change saw the Crisp County High School baseball team travel to play the Howard High School Huskies of Macon on Thursday afternoon, instead of Lowndes County as was previously scheduled.

The Cougars trailed by a 7-0 score line against Howard after three innings of play, before fighting their way back to tie the score at 7-7 in the top of the fifth frame. Howard later scored two runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning and ultimately held on for a 9-8 win over Crisp.

A four-run top half of the fourth inning gave the Cougars the spark of life they needed to ignite the comeback attempt.

Nick Lanneau, Greer Hawkins, and Cole Lancaster all reached in the top of the fourth to load up the bases for the Cougars with no outs. A Howard error on a groundball from Brant Drinnon allowed Lancaster to score the first Crisp County run of the game, and Alex Kelley knocked in the next two CCHS runs with an RBI single to left. Crisp courtesy runner Bo Fuller scored the final run of the frame on a wild pitch, and the Cougars trailed 7-4 going into the bottom of the fourth.

After holding the Huskies scoreless during the fourth frame, the Cougars continued their comeback attempt in the fifth inning with three runs to tie the score.

Lanneau and Hawkins drew consecutive one-out walks in the fifth inning, and Lancaster followed with a single to load the bases up for Crisp once more. Lanneau subsequently scored the fifth Cougar run of the contest, and a bases loaded walk by AJ Duncan pushed Hawkins across the plate for the sixth. A catcher’s interference error was called on Howard in the subsequent at bat, which allowed Kanye Spivey to reach base as Lancaster scored for the game-tying run.

With the two teams tied at 7-7 after the top of the fifth, Howard’s Justin Smith hit a two-run home run to give the Huskies a 9-7 lead.

The Cougars later scored a run in the top of the sixth on an RBI-double from Hawkins that sent Ethan Pollock in to score, but Howard held off CCHS from there for the 9-8 win.

Cougar batting lineup stats:

1. Jackson Faircloth- one walk and one stolen base

2. Pollock- one hit and one run scored

3. Lanneau- one walk, one stolen base and two runs scored

4. Hawkins- one hit, one walk, one RBI, and two runs

5. Lancaster- one hit, two walks, and two runs

6. Drinnon- one walk and one RBI

7. Kelley- two hits, one walk, and two RBIs

8. Duncan- one walk and one RBI

9. Spivey- one RBI

The Cougars fell to 9-12 overall on the season with the defeat.

CCHS is scheduled to play a game against Tiftarea Academy in Cordele tonight at 6 p.m.

Next week, Crisp will play an important region series against Cook County. Game one will be in Adel on Tuesday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. Games two and three will be played as a double-header in Cordele on next Friday afternoon/night starting at 4:30.

 

Fullington baseball eases past John Hancock 12-0

The Fullington Academy Trojan baseball team snapped a four-game winless run with a 12-0 road win over John Hancock Academy on Thursday afternoon.

The Trojans took complete control of the contest early with six runs in the top half of the first inning.

A one-out two-run single from Hunter Hughes started the first inning scoring for the Trojans. After Hughes had made his way around the bases for the third run of the frame, Cody Cofty kept the line moving with a two-run triple that scored Rivers Smith and Josh Hendrix. Blake Worley knocked in the final Trojan run of the first inning with an RBI single that scored Trey Miller.

Fullington went on to tack on a run in the third frame, then two more in the fourth inning, followed by their final three scores in the top of the seventh for the 12-0 final score line.

Brooks Hendrix knocked in the third inning run with an RBI single that allowed Worley to reach home plate.

Hughes later hit a solo home run for the first Trojan fourth inning run, and Chase Bryant picked up an RBI hit later on in the frame for the other run.

In the seventh inning, Fullington’s runs were scored on a two-run double by Chase Smith, and an RBI triple from Hughes.

Worley, Cofty, Miller, and Smith all split time on the mound for Fullington to combine for the shutout victory. Collectively, the group scattered six hits over their combined seven-inning effort while striking out a total of six batters and walking only one. Cofty led the group with three and one-third innings pitched with four strikeouts and three hits allowed.

Batting lineup stats for Fullington in the win:

  1. Brooks Hendrix- three hits, one RBI, and one run scored
  2. Smith- one hit, two RBIs, and two runs
  3. Carson Godfrey- one hit and one run
  4. Hughes- four hits (one HR), four RBIs, and two runs
  5. Scarboro- two hits and one stolen base
  6. Josh Hendrix- one hit, one walk, and one run
  7. Cofty- one hit and two RBIs
  8. Worley- three walks, one RBI, and two runs
  9. Bryant- two hits, one walk, and one RBI

The Trojans brought their overall record to 3-10 on the season with the win. Fullington fell to Citizens Christian Academy by a score of 10-0 earlier in the week to fall to 1-2 in region play.

The Trojans are scheduled to play a two-game set against Open Bible Christian on Monday and Tuesday of the upcoming week. Monday’s game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Pinehurst, while Tuesday’s contest will be in Valdosta at 4 p.m.

 

For recaps of the Wilcox County baseball team’s wins over Clinch and Lanier from this week, follow this link: Wilcox baseball defeats Lanier and Clinch in midweek region clashes