The Cougars defeated the Stingrays 10-0
The Durant Cougars entered Tuesday’s game with a 3-3 record and took on the Sumner Stingrays.
The game started with Owen Franklin pitching for the Cougars. On the first pitch of the game, the Stingrays leadoff batter flew out to right field for the first out. Franklin then struck out the next batter on a 3 pitch at bat. The following batter popped out as well and it was 3 up, 3 down.
Brantley Hayward led off for the Cougars in the bottom of the first and struck out. Shawn Graves was next up for the Cougars and struck out as well. Brody Lissy drew a walk with two outs, and was the first base runner of the game. Jackson McClellan was up at leadoff for the Cougars and struck out. The score was 0-0 at the end of the first inning.
The Stingrays started the second inning with a leadoff single, which was their first base runner of the game. Franklin walked the following batter putting two on base with no outs for the Stingrays. Franklin responded nicely by striking out the next batter for the first out of the inning. Franklin stayed hot by striking out the next Stingray after a long at bat. It was a strong finish by Franklin as he struck out the next batter of the inning, leaving two runners stranded.
Jack Brooks led off for the Cougars in the bottom of the second and got a single with a nice hustle play out of the box to first. Dylan Karnowski was up next and sacrificed bunted right to the pitcher where he was out on first, but Brooks advanced to second. Aiden Juntilla singled with a bouncer over first base and Brooks scored the first run of the game. Cooper Hughes grounded into a fielder’s choice where he was safe at first, but Juntilla was out at second for the Cougars second out. Brady Kelley grounded into a fielder’s choice for the third out of the inning.
The Cougars entered the third with a 1-0 lead and Franklin came back out to the mound. His hot streak continued as he struck out the Stingrays first batter for his fourth strikeout in a row. The following batter flew out deep to right field for the second out. With two out, the Stingrays reached first with a nice single to the outfield. The next batter grounded out to shortstop, leaving a runner stranded.
Hayward led off in the bottom of the third for the Cougars. Hayward grounded out to shortstop for the first out. Shawn Graves struck out for the Cougars second out of the inning. Lissy was up next for the Cougars and reached first with a nice hit to left field. McClellan then singled with a nice hit to right field, putting two runners on the corners with two outs and Jack Brooks up. Brooks struck out but reached first as the Stingrays thrower missed the throw to first. Not only was Brooks safe, but Lissy scored making it 2-0 Cougars. Dylan Karnowski was then up with two outs and runners on the corners. Karnowski singled with a hard hit to right field, driving in a run to extend the Cougars’ lead to 3-0. Juntilla was back up and Karnowski stole second early in the at bat. Juntilla hit one to shortstop and the Cougars scored two more after a Stingrays error on the overthrow. Cooper Hughes was walked on his at bat and that put two on with two outs. Brady Kelley was up next and grounded out to short stop for the third out but it was a productive inning for the Cougars as they grew the lead to 5-0.
Franklin was back out for the Cougars in the fourth and the Stingrays lead-off hitter grounded out to second base for the first out of the inning. The following batter quickly flew out to center field for the second out. Franklin walked the following batter, putting one on with two outs for the Stingrays. The following batter quickly hit a soft one to Franklin and he threw it to first base for the third out of the inning.
Hayward was up in the bottom of the fourth for his third at bat of the game and struck out. Mikkel Villacres came in to pinch hit for the Cougars and struck out. Lissy was back up for the Cougars, this time with two outs and struck out. At the end of the fourth inning, the Cougars were still up 5-0.
In the top of the fifth, Franklin walked the leadoff runner for the Stingrays. The following batter flew out to center field for the first out of the inning. The following batter grounded into a fielder’s choice where his teammate was out at second for the second out of the inning. The following batter sent a ball deep to the warning tracks of left field but ultimately was out as the Stingrays left a runner on again.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Stingrays brought out a new pitcher. McClellan led off for the Cougars and struck out. Brooks was up next and drew a walk. Karnowski was walked, putting two on with one out. Juntilla was up next and due to a wild pitch, both runners advanced for the Cougars. Juntilla RBI’d once again and stayed hot this game, this time bringing in two more Cougars to extend the lead to 7-0. Cooper Hughes then RBI singled which brought in Juntilla and at this point, it was 8-0 Cougars. Kelley grounded into a fielder’s choice, getting Hughes out at second. Hayward was up with two outs. Kelley stole second during Hayward’s at bat and it worked out as Hayward RBI singled making it 9-0 Cougars. Graves was up and singled hard up the middle which put two on with two outs. Lissy was up but during the at bat, a wild pitch occurred and Durant scored, ending the game on a 10-0 win.
