Playing against the Butler County Bears in the opening round of the rain-delayed 12th District Tournament Tuesday at Don Lee Field, the Cougars could manage just five hits against a pair of Bear hurlers.
But it turned out to be more than enough as the Cougars eliminated Butler County 10-0 in five innings with senior right-hander, Braxton Hodges, tossing a three-hit shutout.
The Bears pitchers hurt themselves by issuing nine walks and hitting a batter, and their defense committed four errors, all of which led to Cougar runs.
Hodges was nearly untouchable for the Cougars. He gave up a one-out single in the first inning, then a leadoff single in the second. From the second inning until the fifth, Hodges retired nine straight batters before giving up a two out single in the bottom of the fifth. He then struck out third-baseman Duane Daniels for the final out of the game. Hodges walked no one and finished with six strikeouts.
The Cougars scored all they would need with a three-run second inning against starter and loser Gage Ward. Shortstop Cain Smith singled leading off the inning. Center-fielder Damon Simon followed by hitting a ground ball back to Ward. Trying for the double play, Ward threw the ball into center-field for an error, allowing Simon to be safe at first and Smith to advance to third.
When center-fielder Caleb Beasley, who was backing up the play, missed the ball, Smith came all the way around to score the first run and Simon reached second base.
A Ward wild pitch moved Simon to third base before Andrew Haycraft walked to put runners at the corners. When Ward uncorked another wild pitch, Simon scored and Haycraft advanced to second. Senior Trent Godby then laid down a perfect bunt along the third base line that went for a hit as Haycraft made it into third.
After Godby stole second base, Ward struck out both Rylee Shoemaker and Ryan Johnson, giving the Bears hope they could end the inning without further damage being done. But Noah Bullock quashed that hope with a sharp single into left. Haycraft scored easily, but Godby was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
The Cougars made it 5-0 with a pair of runs in the third inning. Smith drove in the first run with his second hit of the day, then later came around to score on yet another wild pitch.
Grayson County then put the game away with a five-run fourth inning in which they had just a single hit. Five walks and an error contributed to the big Cougar inning. The only hit was Smith’s RBI single, his third of the game.
Hodges worked a 1-2-3 fourth inning, then struck out the first two batters in the fifth before giving up a single to DH Skylar Moore. Hodges then ended the game by striking out Daniels for the second time.
The Cougars were scheduled to face Whitesville Trinity in Wednesday’s final. Trinity overcame a 4-0 deficit on Monday to defeat Edmonson County 7-6 in a game shortened to five innings by rain and lightning.
By Don Brown, Local Sports
Reach Don at donbrown@k105.com
Braxton Hodges hurled a three-hit shutout for the Cougars.
Cain Smith beat the relay throw from the outfield to
score the first run of the game in the second inning.
Third-baseman Alex Scott fielded this grounder
for the final out of the first inning.
