MADISON, Al. – After wrapping up action in the Perfect Game High School Showdown in Hoover last week, the Bearcats were back on the road Friday night for a double header against the James Clemens Jets. The Jets scored in the bottom of the ninth to narrowly defeat Cullman in extra innings in game one but the ‘Cats bounced back in game two and claimed an 8-2 win in the nightcap.
James Clemens 3 – Cullman 2 (9 innings) (game one)
The Jets pulled ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first after stringing some base hits together but the ‘Cats kept James Clemens off the board for eight straight innings to give themselves a chance to climb back.
Cullman struggled at the plate for most of the night, but Kaleb Heatherly and Hayden Stancil combined to pitch five shutout innings and keep the Jets from adding to their lead. The Bearcats got on the board in the top of the fifth when Cooper Bowen singled and Austin Hurt and Brady Patterson each drew walks to load the bases, Max Dueland was hit by a pitch to cut the lead to 2-1.
The Bearcats were able to do more damage in the sixth. Brennen Norton walked, and Ben Hollis singled to give Cullman a pair of runners on the base paths. Back to back ground outs put runners at second and third and Hollis crossed the plate on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2. Neither team was able to get on the board in the seventh, sending the game to into extra innings.
The ‘Cats and Jets stayed knotted at 2 for another inning thanks in large part to a big throw from Matt Brock in the bottom of the eighth that gunned down the winning run at the plate and sent the game into the ninth. Cullman was held scoreless in the top half of the ninth and in the bottom of half of the inning, a hit batter, an error and a base hit allowed James Clemens to walk it off against the Bearcats 3-2.
The ‘Cats were held to just two hits in the loss, both of which came from Hollis and Bowen and Dueland recorded an RBI.
Cullman 8 – James Clemens 2 (game two)
Cullman’s bats were a little more effective in the second game of the night. Matt Brock singled and Nick Braswell walked to give the Bearcats a pair of base runners in the top of the first and Cooper Bowen singled to score Brock and take a 1-0 lead. Jaylen Hughey led off the second with a single and Grant Morrison lined one up the middle to score him and stretch the lead to 2-0.
A single from Ben Hollis, a double from Bowen and a walk by Hayden Stancil loaded the bases for Hughey in the top of the third and he drove one up the middle to score Hollis and give the ‘Cats a 3-0 lead. Kaleb Heatherly then drew a bases-loaded walk to make it a 4-0 game and Stancil crossed the plate on a fielder’s choice to give Cullman a 5-0 lead going into the bottom half of the inning.
The Jets were able to get two runs on the board in their half of the third to cut into the lead, but Stancil drew another walk with the bases loaded in the fourth to build the lead back up to 6-2. After a quick bottom half of the fourth, the Bearcats stretched their lead in the fifth. Back to back singles from Morrison and Brady Patterson, followed by a Brock walk, loaded the bases once again for Cullman and an error allowed Patterson and Brock to cross home plate and make it 8-2.
After a scoreless sixth inning, the Bearcats went into the final frame leading by six. James Clemens led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, but A.J. Miller struck out two of the final three batters he faced to ice the 8-2 win.
Hughey (one RBI) led Cullman with three hits in the win and Morrison (two RBIs) and Bowen (one RBI) each added two hits. Stancil and Heatherly each collected an RBI for the ‘Cats as well.
The Bearcats are now 9-6 on the season and will return home Tuesday to host Decatur for an area matchup. It will be the last night of high school competition before schools are closed and the AHSAA’s two-and-a-half-week hiatus on spring sports goes into effect Wednesday.
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