Peyton Colvard got the start and tossed four scoreless innings for Cullman in its 8-5 win at Fairhope on a foggy Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Jerome Lambert)
FAIRHOPE, Ala. – Cullman made the long drive down to Fairhope to start a weekend full of matchups on the diamond, starting with a Friday night matchup against the Fairhope Pirates. Peyton Colvard got the start on the mound for the Bearcats and tossed four scoreless innings in the 8-5 win.
The Bearcats stranded two runners in the top of the first but Colvard made quick work of Fairhope’s batters in the bottom of the first and second innings. Ben Hollis gave Cullman a 1-0 lead in the top of third with his first career home run and Cooper Beck made it 2-0 when he stole third and came home to score on a throwing error.
Colvard collected two more strikeouts in the bottom of the third and put together another quick, 1-2-3 inning in the fourth. Beck reached base with a one-out walk in the top of the fifth and AJ Miller moved him over to third base with a single. Beck crossed the plate on a wild pitch to make it 3-0 Cullman, and Colvard made it 4-0 when he brought Miller home with a sacrifice fly. Dylon Wallace stretched the lead to 5-0 with an RBI single before Colvard went back out on the mound for the bottom half of the inning.
The Pirates tacked on a run with a base hit in the bottom of the fifth and later cut the lead to 5-4 with a double down the line. Another RBI single tied the game at 5 and forced the ‘Cats to go to the bullpen and bring Brennan Norton to the mound.
Hollis got things started for Cullman with a one-out single in the top of the sixth and Beck reached base after him with a walk, but both were left on base and the game moved to the bottom of the sixth tied at 5. Norton worked through a quick bottom half of the inning to send the game to the seventh knotted at 5.
Colvard drew a leadoff walk and Brady Patterson moved him to second with a single to set the Bearcats up with two runners on and nobody out. Wallace walked to load the bases and Sam Baker broke the tie with an RBI single that made it 6-5 with nobody out for Cullman. Beck extended the lead to 8-5 with a two-RBI single and Norton made his way back onto the mound for the bottom of the inning needing just three outs to secure the win for the Bearcats.
A groundout to Patterson at shortstop sealed the win for the ‘Cats as they move to 3-0 early in the season. Beck led the way for Cullman offensively with two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, and Norton tossed two-and-a-third scoreless innings to help the Bearcats pull away. Cullman will try to stay in the win column tomorrow when it takes on Spanish Fort and Hillcrest.
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