Wolves Split Doubleheader with Pelicans

WESSON – The Co-Lin Baseball team played their final non-conference home games by hosting Nunez on Saturday, March 1. The Wolves and Pelicans split the doubleheader as the Pelicans took game one, 4-3, while the Wolves rebounded for a game two shutout, 5-0.

GAME ONE

The first game of the day saw both teams with perfect innings in the first and second while the Wolves stayed perfect through the top of the third and then broke the scoreless tie in the bottom half of the inning. Bradley Hanlon (Monroe, LA) got the offense going with a one-out double. Hanlon then took third on a groundout by Avery Griffin (Brookhaven) and scored on an RBI-single by Reise Thomas (Florence) to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.

That lead held for the Wolves until the Pelicans plated two in the top of the fifth to take a 2-1 lead. The Wolves looked to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth as they got two runners on with two outs, but a groundout ended the inning with the Pelicans maintaining their lead.

The Pelicans then increased the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth making the score, 4-1. The Wolves then cut the lead down to one with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning as Thomas hit a leadoff double to get the offense going. Tucker Jones (Brandon) then stepped up, took one swing of the bat, and crushed the first pitch he saw over the left field fence a two-run home run making the score, 4-3 

Donovan Moore (Bude) then drew a walk while Trey Davidson (Brandon) was hit-by-pitch. Evan Holifield then reached on a fielder's choice as Davidson was out on the play while Caleb Brooks (Brandon) was then hit-by-pitch to load the bases with one out. The Pelicans then forced a line out followed by a fielder's choice to leave the bases loaded for the Wolves.

After a three-up-and-three-down top of the ninth, the Wolves loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom half as Griffin was hit-by-pitch, Thomas walked, and Jones was hit-by-pitch. However, the Wolves then forced a line out followed by a flyout and then threw the tying run out at the plate to seal the 4-3 win.

The Wolves totaled six hits as Reise Thomas led the way with the only multi-hit game with two while Tucker Jones, Donovan Moore, Evan Holifield, and Bradley Hanlon had one hit each. Jones led the Wolves in RBIs with two while Thomas had one.

Jaxon Rayborn (Laurel) made his season debut in a start for the Wolves and pitched three scoreless and hitless innings, retiring all nine batters he faced, with four strikeouts. Tanner Blackwell (Flora) took the loss in relief (0-1) while pitching two innings allowing two earned runs on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts, Cameron Patterson (Central) pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless relief allowing one hit with two walks and one strikeout. Nash Sturdivant (Brandon) pitched 1.2 innings of relief allowing two earned runs on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts while Jacob Buffalo (Foxworth) pitched one inning of hitless and scoreless relief with two strikeouts.

GAME TWO

The Wolves started the scoring early with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first as Reise Thomas started the inning with a leadoff single. Tucker Jones then reached on a fielder's choice as Thomas was forced out on the play while Donovan Moore drew a walk to put two runners on with one out. After the Wolves pulled off a double steal, Trey Davidson hit a two-RBI single scoring Jones and Moore to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead.

The Wolves added a solo run in the bottom of the second as Avery Griffin hit a two-out single to get the offense started. Griffin then advanced to third on two-base error on a pickoff play and later scored as Thomas reached on an error increasing the lead to 3-0. The Wolves added a run to their lead in the bottom of the third as Davidson and Evan Holifield drew back-to-back walks with one out. Davidson advanced to third by tagging up after a fly out and then scored on an RBI-single by Sam Cook (Shubuta) increasing the lead to 4-0.

The final run of the game for the Wolves came in the bottom of the fourth as Thomas was hit-by-pitch to start the inning. Thomas advanced to third on a single by Jones and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Moore increasing the lead to 5-0.

The Wolves then allowed just two baserunners by the Pelicans in the fifth and sixth innings via walks, but no runs scored in either inning. The Pelicans then had their best scoring chance in the top of the seventh as back-to-back walks with one out loaded the bases. However, the Wolves then forced a game-ending double play to secure the 5-0 victory.

The Wolves totaled five hits as Reise Thomas, Tucker Jones, Trey Davidson, Sam Cook, and Avery Griffin had one hit each. Davidson led the Wolves in RBIs with two while Moore and Cook had one RBI each.

Wes White (Flowood) got the start and improved to 2-2 overall while pitching five innings allowing two runs with three walks and nine strikeouts while Judson Griffin (Brookhaven) completed the combined shutout with two innings of relief allowing one hit with two walks and one strikeout.

Co-Lin is now 15-8 overall and will play their final non-conference games on the road against Pearl River and Meridian. The Wolves will play the Wildcats at 3 p.m., and then face the Eagles at 6 p.m., at Scaggs Field in Meridian on Wednesday, March 5.