HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Holly Pond made the short trip to Hanceville for a pair of varsity matchups Monday night, but the Bulldogs sent the home with a pair of 13-3 losses. Hanceville plated seven runs in the third inning of game one to pull away from the Broncos and built a 10-run lead in the first three innings to put things away in game two.
Hanceville 13 – Holly Pond 3 (game one)
The Broncos struck first in the opening half inning after Hunter Farr singled to lead off the game and later scored on an Andy Light RBI groundout to make it 1-0. The Bulldogs got the run back in their half of the first when Matthew Cornelius singled up the middle to score Adam Cooper and tie the game at 1 going into the second.
Logan Leach walked and Charlie Huddleston singled to give Holly Pond a pair of base runners in the top of the second and both runs later scored on an error and a fielder’s choice to put the Broncos back in front 3-1. After being held scoreless in the second, Hanceville put together a big response in the third.
Cooper drew a walk and Zach Campbell singled to put runners on the corners for the Bulldogs and after another walk loaded the bases, Drew Campbell singled into center field to cut the lead to 3-2. Bo Joles followed with another single just four pitches later that scored two more runs and gave Hanceville a 4-3 lead and Karson Wilbanks blew it open with another 2-run single into left field that stretched the lead to 6-3. The Bulldogs managed to tack on two more runs in the bottom of third to take an 8-3 advantage into the fourth.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Hanceville added to its lead and put the game away early with five more runs in the fifth. A 2-run double off the bat of cooper made it a 10-3 game and just one pitch later, Zach Campbell singled up the middle to make it 11-3. Kainen Cruce was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to add to the lead and an RBI single from Daemon Hackney plated another run for the Bulldogs, ending the game at 13-3 in the fifth.
Cruce tossed all five innings in the win for Hanceville, allowing two earned runs on four hits and striking out six. Zach Campbell (one RBI) led the Bulldogs with three hits and Joles (one hit) and Wilbanks (one hit) each drove in a pair of runs. Hackney (one hit), Drew Campbell (one hit), Cornelius (one hit), Cooper (one hit) and Ashton James added RBIs for Hanceville as well.
Farr led the Broncos with two hits in the loss and Light collected an RBI.
Hanceville 13 – Holly Pond 3 (game two)
An error by the Bulldogs and a single from Thomas Bell gave Holly Pond a pair runners on the base paths in the top of the first and Seth Whiting was able to bring Farr across the plate with a sacrifice fly to give the Broncos an early 1-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Bronco fans, it was the only lead they would hold in game two.
Back to back singles from Zach Campbell and Ashton James led off the bottom of the first for Hanceville and an RBI single by Matthew Cornelius tied the game at 1. Back to back singles from Kainen Cruce and Cainon Moore allowed two more runs to cross the plate and the Bulldogs led the way 3-1 by the start of the second.
After Holly Pond was held scoreless in the top of the second, a triple from Campbell gave Hanceville a runner at third with one out in the bottom of the inning. James doubled into center field to score him and make it 4-1 before scoring on a wild pitch himself to give the Bulldogs a 5-1 lead. Moore doubled to make it a 6-1 game and Cooper singled into right to tack on run number seven. Cooper later scored on another wild pitch to give Hanceville an 8-1 advantage going into the third inning.
Andy Light scored on a fielder’s choice in the top of the third to trim the lead down to six, but the Bulldogs got the run back in the bottom of the third with a single from Campbell and another RBI double from James. James later scored on an error to make it a 10-2 game and Cornelius was able to steal home to extend the lead to 11-2. Cruce scored another wild pitch a few batters later and Hanceville led things 12-2 going into the fourth.
After a scoreless fourth inning, an RBI single off the bat of Dayden Floyd put the Broncos on the board in the fifth inning but Barrett Hardin drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom half of the inning to end the game with the Bulldogs on top 13-3.
James went five innings on the mound for Hanceville, allowing three unearned runs on five hits and striking out three batters. Campbell finished with four hits at the plate, Moore (two hits) racked up three RBIs in the win and James (two RBIs) added three hits of his own. Cornelius (one hit), Cruce (one hit), Cooper (one hit) and Hardin added RBIs as well.
Floyd (one hit) led the Broncos with two RBIs and Kyler Chaney finished with a pair of hits. Whiting (one hit) added an RBI for Holly Pond as well.
Monday night’s games were the last for teams across the state as schools prepare to shut down for at least two and a half weeks to combat the spread of coronavirus.
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