By Jonathan Shelton
A six-run deficit against George Washington of Danville, a competitive game on the road against Floyd, and a match-up against Tunstall, the number one team in the district, were not enough to stop the Patrick County varsity baseball team from going on a 3-0 sweep in this week’s jam-packed schedule.
The Cougars started off the week hosting the GW-Danville Eagles Tuesday night. Thatcher Blankenship started on the mound for the Cougars.
The Eagles scored early in the first inning with one run, but the Cougars answered back with two runs. The Eagles retook the lead with two more runs in the second inning, while the Cougars scored three, increasing their lead to 5-3. Both teams held each other to a scoreless third and fourth inning.
After hitting the first two GW batters in the fourth, Blankenship was relieved by Dylan Phillips. The Eagles then went off, scoring five runs in the fifth inning and adding three more in the sixth to increase the lead to 11-5.
The Cougars could not be put down though, rallying late in the sixth inning with four runs to cut the lead down to two. The turning point of the game began in the seventh inning when William Wood relieved Phillips, closing the game for the Cougars. Wood struck out the batter to get the third out.
The Cougars batted once more, tacking on two runs to tie the game, 11-11. The Eagles did not have an answer for Wood’s pitching in the extra inning and after the Cougars got two outs and put two more men on base, Wood stepped up to the plate and delivered a walk-off single to finish the game, 12-11, and earned the win.
After the game, Coach Eric Renegar expressed his satisfaction with Wood’s efforts. “You try to go with getting a good start from your starting pitcher. Tonight, unfortunately, it didn’t happen. But we battled through the adversity and hung around. Then William has a big hit and you know, sometimes that’s what teams need to get a win. Great teams find a way to win like that.
“We knew Woody would come in there and give us a chance to put zeros up on the board,” Renegar said, “and he did that tonight. And that was the turning point, him walking out there with that energy and obviously with the offensive approach he had late in the game. William Wood was the turning point of the game.”
The Cougars traveled to Floyd to play the Buffaloes on Wednesday. Both teams scored early with two runs each in the first inning. Neither team scored again until the fifth inning, each team adding one more run. The Cougars outlasted the Buffaloes, sending two balls over the fence to get the win, 5-3.
Nicolas Duncan pitched the entire game for the Cougars and ended with three strikeouts and allowed five hits, three walks, and three runs.
Jared Brown and Evan Hopkins each hit a home run. Parker Brown and William Wood each scored a run as well.
The Cougars hosted the Tunstall Trojans Friday evening. Playing an awesome game, the Cougars were not distracted facing the top team in the district, scoring four runs in the first inning, while the Trojans had just one.
Patrick County refused to look back, scoring four more runs, two each in both the second and third inning. The Trojans were unable to respond, allowing the Cougars to cruise to an 8-1 victory.
Dylan Phillips was the starting pitcher for Patrick County, as well as the winning pitcher. He gave up only one run, five walks, five hits, with three strikeouts. William Wood closed for the Cougars in the seventh inning, allowing two hits and striking out one batter.
Seth Scott finished with two runs. William Wood and Evan Hopkins had one run and two RBIs each.
The Cougars improve their record to 7-4 and traveled to play the Bassett Bengals Monday.
