LBWCC nabs 2nd place in conference, readies for tourney

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, May 9, 2012

With its 7-2 win over Enterprise State on Monday, LBWCC clinched second place in the ACCC Southern Conference going into this weekend’s conference tournament in Ozark.

The Saints had to play ESCC on Monday because the game on Sunday was postponed due to lightning.

LBWCC beat ESCC 6-5 on Saturday night in the first game of the series, and needed yesterday’s first-game win to clinch.

“I thought we played very well,” LBWCC coach Steve Helms said. “Our kids have really played hard down the stretch.”

In the third game, the Saints fell 8-0 in a game that didn’t mean anything as far as conference standings are concerned.

LBWCC will face Northern Conference winner Shelton State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Eagles Stadium in Ozark to start its conference tournament run.

“We got in a situation where we got the night game — the marquee game Saturday against a Shelton State team that’s outstanding,” Helms said. “It’s going to be a fun environment and a major challenge for our kids. We can’t ask for anything better to be put in this situation or this environment.”

The Saints finished the regular season 29-17 overall, and 19-10 in conference play.

LBWCC 7, ESCC 2

Opp natives Josh Thompson went 2-for-3 and Gavin Free went 2-for-4 to lead the Saints. Free had three RBIs.

P.J. Leto and David Carter went 1-for-4 each with one RBI each.

The Saints and ESCC were even at 2-2 in the fifth inning, but LBWCC added two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth to pull away.

Chad Wallace struck out three and allowed one hit to earn the win on the mound for LBWCC.

Mykal Bailey pitched four innings and allowed no runs on four hits while striking out two batters.

LBWCC 6, ESCC 5

Carter went 4-for-6 with two RBIs to lead the Saints in the extra-inning game. Chad Dickinson also had two RBIs and got two hits to also lead LBWCC.

Wallace also earned the win for the Saints, pitching three innings and allowing no runs on two hits.

The Saints had a 4-0 lead in the sixth inning, but ESCC scored two in the seventh and added three runs in the top of the ninth to take a 5-4 lead.

LBWCC answered in the bottom half of the ninth with a run to tie the game.

Both went scoreless in the 10th inning, and the Saints held ESCC at bay in the top of the 11th.

Leto went 2-for-5; and Ryan Barnes went 2-for-4.