Wildcats snag wins over Bulldogs, Cougars

Published 1:48 pm Saturday, March 4, 2017

By MICHAEL MURRAY

The Schley County Wildcats baseball squad exploded in the sixth inning of the team’s Feb. 28 tilt against the Macon County Bulldogs to take a 15-5 victory over their hosts in Montezuma. The Wildcats returned to the diamond on March 2 to deal a 7-6 blow to the Crisp County Cougars in a fierce, up-and-down battle.
With the pair of wins, the Wildcats jumped to 5-1 overall and remain undefeated in Region 4-A after two contests.
The Wildcats traveled to Vienna to take on the Dooly County Bobcats in a doubleheader on March 3. The results of these tilts were not available at press time.
The ‘Cats got the jump on the Bulldogs early in their Feb. 28 match-up, plating three runners in the top of the first inning. Macon County wasted no time answering, bringing in a pair of runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, leaving the Wildcats up 3-2. Both teams put one more mark on the board in the second stanza and the third frame went scoreless.
Schley added two more in the top of the fourth while, in the bottom of the frame, the Bulldogs managed to plate only one runner.
In the fifth inning, the Wildcats began their mission to put the game out of reach, scoring three unanswered runs. It was in the top of the sixth that the Schley squad really got down to action, however, as the Wildcats added six more runs to bring their tally to 15. Macon County responded with one lonely run in the bottom of the sixth, ceding the 10-point victory to the ‘Cats.
Wade Law led the Wildcats from the plate, connecting on three hits in the match. Law was followed by Garrett Peavy and Reid Ragsdale, who each collected two. Ragsdale and Dylan Windham both drew a pair of walks.
In addition to Barry’s five RBIs, Clint Sellars added three, followed by Ashton Goodin with two.
Windham struck out five batters in his five innings of work on the mound for the Wildcats. Ragsdale closed out the game, sending one batter back to the dugout.
When Schley’s boys returned to their home diamond to face the Cougars on March 2, the hosts put the first run on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Crisp pulled ahead in the top of the third, adding two runs, but the Wildcats negated the threat with a pair of their own in the bottom of the third. Schley added another in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead.
The Cougars sparked a rally in the top of the fifth that netted the visitors four more runs, giving Crisp a 6-4 advantage. The Wildcats responded by plating a pair of runners in the bottom of the frame, tying the score 6-6. Schley took a 7-6 lead in the bottom of the sixth before Crisp tied it up once again in the top of the seventh.
With the pressure on, the Wildcats added a run in the bottom of the seventh to clinch the one-run victory.
Sellars led the team from the plate, contributing a pair of RBIs. Sellars also spent four innings on the mound for the ‘Cats, dispatching three batters before ceding the hill to Windham, who closed out the game.
The Wildcats will return to action on March 7, traveling to Butler to take on the Taylor County Vikings.