Jaguars close out tournament with walk-off win
Published 8:55 am Monday, April 2, 2018
HOOVER –Spain Park’s baseball team ended its appearance in the Buccaneer Classic tournament hosted by Hoover High School with a 3-2 record, culminating with a 4-3, walk-off win over Buckhorn on Saturday, March 31.
Matthew Moser singled home the winning run after taking two walks earlier in the game.
Cooper White went 1-for-3 with one walk and one RBI, and Sam Dozier went 1-for-4 with a double, one run and one RBI.
Tyler Greer allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings while striking out five, while Will May held Buckhorn to no runs on no hits and one walk in 2 1/3 innings while striking out two.
The Jaguars fought back from a 4-1 deficit to take a 5-4 lead into the seventh inning, only to give the lead right back and eventually fall in extra innings, 7-5, to Springville in the first game of the tournament.
SPHS hosted the game, as some contests in the tournament were played at the sister school.
Springville scored first in the top of the first inning on an Ivan Cornelius single, and then added one run in each of the next two innings.
In the second, Bradlee Cole doubled to lead off the inning and scored on one of Spain Park’s four errors in the game.
Another leadoff hit, this one by Cameron Isbell, cost the Jags as Isbell made it 3-0 on a wild pitch.
Spain Park plated its first run in the bottom of the third as John Kennington led off with a single, advanced on a stolen base and an out, and scored on a groundout by White.
The Tigers made it 4-1 in the top of the fifth when Brandon Daniels doubled and scored on a wild pitch, but the SPHS bats got going in the bottom of the sixth.
Dozier led off the inning by taking a walk—the first of four issued by two Springville pitchers in the inning.
Dozier scored on a groundout by Colby Mills, and with the bases loaded, Springville brought in Cornelius to pitch with a 3-0 count on Adam Wygle, who took one strike and then hit the next pitch hard through the left side of the infield.
Wygle recorded half of Spain Park’s four hits in the game, while four Tigers had multi-hit games.
Moser and Jarrod Kennington scored on the hit, and John Kennington also crossed home plate, giving the Jags the lead, after the throw from the outfield got away from the Springville catcher.
But Spain Park’s advantage was short-lived, as Brant Brown led off the seventh inning with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Isbell to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
After a scoreless eighth inning, Cornelius walked to lead off the ninth, and then Isbell doubled to plate Cornelius.
Isbell scored the final run of the game on a wild pitch.
Braden Hughes started on the mound for Springville and held Spain Park to one run on three hits and three walks in five innings while striking out two.
Six Jags toed the rubber and were hurt by five walks and errors, which led to four unearned runs.
Greer struck out three batters in two innings pitched, while Dozier struck out two in one inning.
On Thursday, March 29, Spain Park (12-12) allowed three runs in the top of the first inning but none the rest of the way in a 6-3 win over Hazel Green.
Jarrod Kennington pitched all seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three.
Dozier paced the Jags at the plate, recording a hit in all three at-bats with one run scored and two RBI.
White went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Spain Park began tournament play on Friday, March 30, with a walk-off, 16-15 shootout win over Houston (Tennessee).
The Jaguars put together 13 hits and held a 11-4 lead going into the fourth inning but needed Wygle’s game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh inning.
White went 3-for-5 with one run and one RBI, Colton Ledbetter had four RBI, Dozier went 2-for-2 with three walks, two runs and three RBI and Brody Richey had three RBI.
The second game of the day was less exciting for the Jags as they fell 16-2 to Helena.
SPHS could manage only two hits. Luke Blackmon took a walk, scored a run and recorded an RBI, while Richey went 1-for-3 with one run.