HOOVER – Cullman looked to keep on rolling in Hoover when the Bearcats took on Grissom on Saturday in the Buccaneer Classic. They got a little bit of a test early, but behind some sloppy Grissom defense and a six-run fifth inning, the Bearcats quickly got the momentum back and cruised to the 13-5 win.
Grissom quickly got something going against Cullman starter Samuel Baker. Benjamin Walls got it started with a one-out single, then Tyler Davis hit a single of his own. Will Childers lined a single to center field, but Davis got thrown out at second by Hayden Henderson. Baker got Garrett Nielson to pop out to Brady Patterson at first to get out of the inning unscathed.
Cullman got its offense going in the bottom of the second. Peyton Colvard reached on a dropped line drive by right fielder, Evan Knob, and advanced to second on the throw-in. Taylor lined a single to right field to put runners on the corners with no outs. Back-to-back RBI groundouts by Brennen Norton and Patterson put the Bearcats on top, 2-0.
Jacob Kingsford reached on a Taylor error at short to lead off the third. Nathaniel Sanderson moved him over to second on a sacrifice bunt. Kingsford moved to third on a bad throw by the catcher, Weston Norton. Walls then drew a walk and Davis hit a three-run home run to give Grissom a 3-2 lead. The Bearcats, though, got the lead right back in their half. Henderson reached on a Sanderson error at short to lead off the inning, then one out later, Cooper Beck gave Cullman a 4-3 lead as he lined a two-run home run over the right-field wall; they quickly took over after that; after being hit by a pitch, Dylon Wallace later scored on a Beck sacrifice fly. Henderson and Norton got back-to-back singles in the inning and scored on an error by Sanderson to make it a 7-3 advantage.
Childers added an RBI single in the top of the fifth to make it a 7-4 game. But a big fifth inning by the Bearcats quickly erased any hopes of a Grissom comeback and it all came with two outs. Two more errors by Sanderson, who moved over to second, a Will Morrison two-run single, a run scored on a wild pitch and a Brennen Norton RBI double put Cullman up, 13-4, the final score of the game.
Beck hit a home run and finished with three RBIs for Cullman. Morrison and Brennen Norton each added a hit and two RBIs. Patterson collected an RBI. Henderson finished with two hits; Taylor and Weston Norton each collected a hit. Henderson scored three runs for the Bearcats. Beck, Colvard and Wallace each scored two runs. Weston Norton, Seth Gable, Morrison and Taylor each scored a run. Baker pitched the whole game and allowed seven hits, five runs, three of them earned, walked four and struck out four.
The Bearcats also defeated Grissom, 2-0, on Friday. Cullman lost, 8-3, later in the tournament to Hoover, finishing the Buccaneer Classic with an impressive 6-1 record to take second place. The Bearcats are now 16-8 on the season. They will travel to Northridge on Monday.
Scoring roundup:
Bob Jones 11, Cullman 3 (SB) (Friday) Sparkman Classic
America Christian Academy 12, Cullman 3 (Saturday)
Auburn 15, Cullman 3 (Saturday)
Lady Bearcats 2-15
Next game: April 2 v. Brewer
Jackson 8, Fairview 6 (BB)
Fairview 6, Clarke County 4 (BB)
Aggies 13-10
Next game: April 3 @ Hayden
Good Hope's Tucker Putman and Will Dickerson had a big day on Saturday as well, finishing in fifth place out of 157 boats in the Alabama Student Angler Bass Fishing Association (ASABFA) Fishing Tournament at Wheeler.
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