Wolves Finish Regular Season with Sweep of Eagles

WESSON – The Co-Lin Baseball team wrapped up the regular season by hosting Meridian on Tuesday, April 29. The Wolves dominated the doubleheader as the swept the Eagles by taking game one, 7-1, and game two, 12-2.

GAME ONE

After a scoreless first inning, the Wolves broke through with a single run in the bottom of the second as Bradley Hanlon (Monroe, LA) hit a two-out single to get the offense going. Hanlon then scored as Reise Thomas delivered a two-out, RBI-double giving the Wolves a 1-0 lead.

The Wolves continued to stall out the Eagles offense to maintain their lead and then added a run in the bottom of the sixth as Lucas Harrington (Youngsville, LA) hit a one-out single to get the offense started. Harrington then stole second, took third on a groundout by Brady White (Ethel) and scored on a two-out RBI-single by Evan Holifield (Stringer) to double the Wolves lead to 2-0.

The Eagles scored one run in the top of the seventh to cut the lead down to 2-1. However, the Wolves answered with a five-run explosion in the bottom half of the eighth as White was hit-by-pitch while Holifield and Hanlon hit back-to-back singles to load the bases with one out. Thomas then hit a bases clearing, three-RBI triple scoring White, Holifield, and Hanlon increasing the Wolves lead to 5-1. Gavin Bledsoe (Brandon) then stepped up to the plate, took one swing of the bat, and crushed a ball off the scoreboard for a two-run home run, his first of the season, to extend the lead to 7-1.

The Eagles then went strikeout, single, groundout, strikeout in the top of the ninth to secure the game one victory for the Wolves.

The Wolves totaled ten hits as a team with Evan Holifield and Reise Thomas leading the way with three hits apiece while Bradley Hanlon had two hits with Lucas Harrington and Gavin Bledsoe adding one hit each. Thomas led the Wolves in RBIs with four while Bledsoe had two with Holifield adding one RBI.

Jennings Kimbrell got the start and improved to 10-4, tying for the lead in wins in the MACCC, while pitching 4.2 scoreless innings and allowing five hits with one strikeout. Lucas Harrington pitched 2.1 innings of relief allowing one earned run on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts while Nash Sturdivant (Brandon) picked up his eighth save, tied for second-most in the MACCC, with two innings of scoreless relief allowing one hit with three strikeouts.

GAME TWO

The second game of the doubleheader saw the Eagles use back-to-back two-out doubles to score a run in the top of the first and take an early 1-0 lead.

However, the lead was short-lived as the Wolves responded with five runs to seize all the momentum as Tucker Jones (Brandon) and Trey Davidson (Brandon) drew back-to-back walks to start the inning. After Jones stole third and Davidson stole second, Evan Holifield hit a one-out, two-RBI double scoring Jones and Davidson to give the Wolves a 2-1 lead. Later in the inning, Caleb Brooks drew a walk to put two runners on with two outs. Bradley Hanlon then hit an RBI-single scoring Holifield and advancing Brooks to third base. After Hanlon stole second, Brooks scored on a wild pitch to make the lead, 4-1. After Gavin Bledsoe drew a walk to extend the inning, Hanlon scored on a passed ball increasing the lead to 5-1.

The Wolves then added one run in the bottom of the second as Jones drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third on an error as Davidson reached on a fielder's choice, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Lucas Harrington making the score, 6-1. The Eagles then scored one run in the top of the third to cut the lead down to 6-2.

The Wolves responded with a six-run explosion in the bottom of the third as Reise Thomas hit a leadoff single, stole second, and advanced to third on an error on that play. Later in the inning, Hanlon hit a one-out, RBI-single making the score, 7-2. Bledsoe then drew a walk while Avery Griffin (Brookhaven) singled to load the bases with one out. Hanlon then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jones making the score, 8-2, while Davidson drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Harrington then stepped up to the plate, took one swing of the bat, and smashed a 0-2 into the scoreboard for a grand slam, his sixth home run of the season, and pushing the lead to 12-2.

The Eagles then went walk, caught stealing, strikeout, double, strikeout in the fourth and strikeout, groundout, walk, strikeout in the fifth to secure the game two victory and sweep for the Wolves.

The Wolves totaled six hits as Bradley Hanlon led the way with two hits while Lucas Harrington, Evan Holifield, Reise Thomas, and Avery Griffin had one hit each. Harrington led the Wolves in RBIs with five while Holifield and Hanlon had two RBIs each with Jones adding one RBI.

Cohen Weinhofer (Ocean Springs) improved to 7-5 with the complete game win allowing two earned runs on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Co-Lin finishes the season 32-23 overall, 16-12 in conference play. The Wolves finish sixth in the MACCC and have earned the No. 6 seed in the Region 23 Tournament and will play the No. 3 seed Jones. First pitch between the Wolves and the Bobcats is set for 2 p.m., at Clark/Gay Baseball Complex in Decatur on Tuesday, May 6.