The College Heights Christian Cougars entered Tuesday’s game against Ozark 7 Conference and crosstown rival McAuley Catholic having scored only eight runs in their four previous games, all losses against Clever (3-2), Exeter (4-0), Ash Grove (19-2), and Purdy (19-4).
Granted, to be fair, Purdy and Ash Grove are ranked second and fourth in Class 2, respectively, and Clever is receiving votes in Class 3 in the latest rankings from the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association.
The Cougars snapped their four-game losing streak and brought out their bats in a big way as they surpassed their runs total from their four previous games with an 11-5 win on Tuesday at Joe Becker Stadium, improving to 2-4 overall and 1-1 Ozark 7 on the season.
College Heights erupted for seven runs in the second and pushed across two runs each in the fourth and sixth innings, while McAuley Catholic scored one in the second, one in the fourth, one in the sixth, and two in the seventh.
College Heights collected 10 hits with three doubles, picked up eight RBI, worked seven walks and reached another time with a hit batter, capitalized on five McAuley Catholic errors, stole seven bases, and left nine runners behind.
Tuesday’s performance at the plate could provide the Cougars with confidence going forward.
“We’ve been talking about just going up there having a plan and being confident,” College Heights coach Phillip Jordan said. “I felt like tonight our kids did a good job, took good swings, and I think statistically it shows because we hit the ball hard, we got on base, and obviously to win games you’ve got to be able to do that. It was a good thing to see and hopefully it will carry us as we continue on.”
Philip Thompson and Kelton Welch each sparked College Heights with two-run doubles during that seven-run outburst in the second.
Welch led College Heights with three hits, Caleb Evans had two, and Jayce Walker, Josh Anderson, Ben Thomas, Austin Miller, and Thompson each had one.
Welch, Evans, and Thomas each scored twice and Welch, Miller, and Thompson each drove in two runs as eight of the nine players in the College Heights order either scored or drove in a run Tuesday.
On the mound, Thomas — one of only two seniors on the College Heights roster along with Bo Sitton — earned the win and he allowed three runs over six innings with nine strikeouts and three walks.
“Ben, he probably wasn’t as sharp as he or we would like, but he was still in the zone and kept hitters off-balance,” Jordan said. “He didn’t really give up any hard hits and defensively, if we had made a few more plays behind him, he could have probably gone a complete game. He’s still early in the year getting his pitching arm in shape so he can really go deep in games, but tonight he went six and gave us a chance to win.”
The Cougars return to action Friday on the road against Pierce City, a team that’s scored 57 runs in their four wins this season, including 21 against Ozark 7 member Verona.
“Baseball is a funny game,” Jordan said. “We played really bad (Monday) at Purdy and came out and played pretty good ball tonight. Not perfect, but hopefully it can carry over. We’ll see Friday if we can take the good things from tonight and get better and learn from our mistakes. The reality is, we did not play well defensively tonight. Could have been a different game if we had made the plays that we’re supposed to make.”
The Cougars were charged with three errors Tuesday.
Joe Staton, Rocco Bazzano-Joseph, Michael Parrigon, Brek Sickman, and Kable Reichardt each had one of the Warriors’ five hits against Thomas and Miller, who pitched the seventh for the Cougars. Staton doubled for the Warriors’ only extra-base hit.
Sickman led McAuley Catholic with two runs scored and Tripp Miller earned two RBI.
Bazzano-Joseph earned the loss, and he allowed nine runs (three earned) on nine hits over five innings with nine strikeouts and two walks, while Parrigon allowed two runs (unearned) on a hit with two strikeouts and five walks over his two innings.
McAuley Catholic dropped to 3-4 overall and 2-1 Ozark 7, and the Warriors return to play Monday on the road against Jasper to start a stretch of four games in five days.
