Ben Hollis rounds the bases after a home run in the top of the third of Cullman's 8-7 loss to Hillcrest. (Photo courtesy of Jerome Lambert)
SPANISH FORT, Ala. – Cullman hit the field for a doubleheader Saturday morning against Spanish Fort and Hillcrest and split its matchups with the Toros and Patriots. The Bearcats got things started with a 14-3 rout of Spanish Fort but fell to Hillcrest in the bottom of the seventh, 8-7.
Cullman 14 – Spanish Fort 3
Spanish Fort took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a home run to center field, but that lead didn’t hold up very long. Nicholas Braswell brought Dylon Wallace home from third base with a safety squeeze to tie the game, and the flood gates opened after that. Cooper Beck made it 2-1 with an RBI single and Braswell crossed the plate on a single from AJ Miller to go up 3-1.
Peyton Colvard was hit by a pitch and Brady Patterson walked to bring in two more runs; Wallace followed them with an RBI single to stretch the lead to 6-1. Back-to-back RBI doubles from Sam Baker and Ben Hollis made it a 9-1 game and Braswell and Beck continued to pour it on, adding two more RBI singles to go up 11-1. Colvard and Patterson rounded out the inning with two more RBI singles, and the Bearcats went into the bottom of the second with a massive 14-1 advantage.
The Toros led off the bottom of the inning with another home run to trim the lead to 14-2, but Jones was able to get out of the inning without any more damage. After a scoreless third inning, Spanish Fort cut it to 14-3 with an RBI single, but Jones ended the inning with his sixth strikeout of the game. Jones and the ‘Cats' defense finished things up in the bottom of the fifth to seal the 14-3 win.
Jones went all five innings for Cullman, allowing three runs on seven hits and collecting seven strikeouts. Beck went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored and Colvard led the Bearcats with three RBIs. Braswell, Patterson and Baker all added two RBIs as well.
Hillcrest 8 – Cullman 7
This one was scoreless after the first two innings, but Hollis put the ‘Cats up 1-0 with a home run in the top of the third. Cullman added four runs in the top of the fourth, two of which came in to score off the bat of Braswell, and Colvard stretched the lead to 6-0 in the top of the fifth with an RBI double.
The Patriots chipped away at the lead with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth and the Bearcats went into the sixth with a 6-3 advantage. Hillcrest tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7-6 lead, giving Cullman just three more outs to play with. Beck tied things up with a solo shot to lead off the top of the seventh, but the Patriots scored a walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Bearcats 8-7.
Cullman is now 4-1 on the season and will look to bounce back with a win on Tuesday when the Bearcats travel to Homewood.
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