DOGS PITCH PAST TRINITY: Andy sweeps Wildcats to advance to round 3
Published 12:05 am Saturday, April 28, 2018
The Andalusia Bulldogs used strong pitching and timely hitting to sweep the Trinity Wildcats in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs on Friday in Montgomery.
GAME ONE
ANDALUSIA 3,
TRINITY 0
In the first game of the day, Andalusia’s Jacob Cravey out dueled Auburn commit Trace Bright for a 3-0 victory.
Bright started the game strong with a pair of strikeouts on his way to a 1-2-3 inning.
Cravey went to work in the bottom of the first inning and picked up a pair of strikeouts as he sat down the Trinity batters in order.
Andalusia made more contact in the top of the second inning, but still couldn’t get a runner on base.
Cravey remained strong as he retired the Wildcats in order in the bottom of the second inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Cravey struck out the first batter before back-to-back singles looked to get the Wildcats in business.
Cravey responded by getting the next batter to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
The Bulldogs got their first base runner of the game in the top of the fifth inning when Chip Morgan drew a two-out walk.
The Bulldogs were unable to move him off of first base.
In the top of the sixth inning, Cravey drew a walk to start the inning and Caleb Blackston came in as a courtesy runner for Cravey.
Gill Morgan then moved Blackston to second base with a sacrifice bunt.
The Wildcats then elected to intentionally walk Ethan Wilson.
Garrett Davis then moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.
Hogan Nichols then stepped into the batter’s box.
After getting fooled on two pitches, Nichols crushed a double into the gap that allowed Blackston and Wilson to come around to score.
Sebaskin Stallworth followed with a double of his own to put the Bulldogs up 3-0.
Cravey then cruised through the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Wildcats got a two-out hit in the bottom of the seventh, but Cravey got the next batter to fly out to right field to end the game.
“I was just coming in to fill up the zone and give my team a chance,” Cravey said after the game. “I feel like I executed the zone real well. I was able to hit my spots pretty well and I’m lucky I didn’t walk anybody.”
Cravey picked up the win and allowed just three hits and no walks in the complete-game shutout.
“Hogan (Nichols) came up huge in the sixth inning,” Andalusia head coach Tyler Dent said. “He had two strikes on him and had looked silly and then he barrels on up. Sebaskin (Stallworth) came right behind him and added one more. That was big.”
GAME TWO
ANDALUSIA 3,
TRINITY 1
In the final game of the day, Andalusia’s Wilson limited the Wildcat offense in a 3-1 victory.
Wilson got the first two batters of the game out before giving up a one-out single.
Wilson then struck out the next batter to end the frame.
Nichols picked up a two-out single for the Bulldogs, but Andalusia wasn’t able to get him around to score.
In the top of the second inning, Wilson struck out the first two batters on the way to a 1-2-3 inning.
C. Morgan started the bottom of the second with a walk moved to second when Cravey drew a walk.
Both runners moved up 90 feet on passed ball before G. Morgan drove in his brother with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Wilson followed with a scorching single that nearly took the Wildcat pitcher out.
The single from Wilson allowed Cravey to score for a 2-1 Andalusia lead.
In the top of the fourth inning, Trinity got a pair of two-out hits that allowed them to score their lone run of the day.
Will Clark came up first in the bottom of the fourth inning a ripped a double high off the fence in the left field.
C. Morgan followed with a sacrifice bunt to move Clark to third and then J.W. Jones used a sacrifice to drive him in for a 3-1 Andalusia lead.
Wilson was then able to close out the game to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 win.
“The guys just laid it all out there on the line for 14 innings against a very good ball team,” Dent said. “You can’t say enough about Jacob pounding the zone. He didn’t have a walk in the first game and that’s huge. In game two, Ethan (Wilson) is going to give us a chance every time he steps on the mound. He’s a Bulldog, he’s a competitor and his a winner. He has been through it in football, basketball and baseball.”
Andalusia will host the winner between Oak Grove and Holtville next Friday for the third round.