Callaway sweeps Lamar County

Published 11:45 am Saturday, March 30, 2019

By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

It’s a sweep.

The Callaway Cavaliers, after falling to the Lamar County Trojans on Tuesday, took both sets of a doubleheader on a picture-perfect Friday afternoon and evening to win the three-game series.

Callaway (12-6 overall) improved to 6-3 in Region 5-AA and solidified its hold on second place in the region.

Bremen is the region front-runner with an 11-1 record, and it has the tie-breaker edge over Callaway after winning two of three in a series earlier this season.

While Callaway likely won’t be able to catch Bremen, if it finishes second it will be at home for the opening round of the state playoffs.

Taking both of Friday’s games went a long way toward securing that number two position for the Cavaliers.

“It puts us in a really good spot to finish second,” Callaway head coach Dusty Hubbard said. “And that’s what we knew coming in.”

In Friday’s first game, the Cavaliers only needed three innings to beat the Trojans 15-0, with Walt Stewart throwing the shutout.

Game two was a bit more competitive, but the Cavaliers still eased to a 9-3 victory, with Justin Moore and Jabari Smith teaming up to get the job done on the mound.

The Cavaliers had a breakout day at the plate, with everyone in the lineup contributing.

“That was the biggest thing. I thought whoever we put up there swung it good today,” Hubbard said. “Every time I felt like they’d make a little bit of a push offensively, we’d come back and have a big inning. We got a lot of two-out hits, especially in game one.”

After playing two non-region games against Westminster today, Callaway returns to region play next week with three games against Jordan.

Here’s a recap of Friday’s games:

GAME ONE

CALLAWAY 15, 

LAMAR COUNTY 0

After managing one run in the series opener on Tuesday, the Cavaliers had their bats working in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader.

The Cavaliers scored three runs in the first inning, they added five more runs in the second inning, and they finished the game with seven runs in the bottom of the third.

Brooks Bledsoe got things started in the first inning with a one-out single, and the Cavaliers were off and running.

After a Braelin Mitchell walk, Trent Sheppard cleared the bases with a two-run triple, and Destin Patrick had an RBI single later in the inning.

Andrew Lock led off the bottom of the second with a base hit, and following a Wade sacrifice bunt, Mitchell brought in a run with a single.

Sheppard followed with his second hit of the day, and Jabari Smith’s RBI double brought in a run to make it 5-0.

Sheppard scored on a passed ball, and Patrick and Luke Swann capped the rally with RBI singles.

The Cavaliers continued the offensive onslaught in the third inning.

Wade led off with a walk, Bledsoe singled, and Sheppard brought a run home with a sacrifice fly.

Smith’s double plated another run to push the lead to 10-0, and Wesley Marchman’s double scored two more runs.

Swann and Lock came through with back-to-back RBI doubles, and the 15th and final run scored on a balk.

GAME TWO

Callaway 9, 

Lamar County 3

Lamar County struck first with a run in the top of the first, but Callaway took a lead it wouldn’t relinquish with five runs in the bottom of the first.

Drake Wade, who has done an exceptional job as Callaway’s leadoff hitter this season, began the inning with a base hit, and Braelin Mitchell reached on a one-out single.

Trent Sheppard tied it with an RBI single and Destin Patrick’s two-run single gave Callaway the lead.

Wesley Marchman continued the inning with a two-out double, and Andrew Lock followed with a double of his own to drive in two runs and make it a 5-1 game.

The Cavaliers added two more runs in the fourth inning, with Wade showing off his speed.

With a man on, Wade’s line-drive base hit was misplayed in center field, and the ball went all the way to the fence.

Wade never slowed, and he sprinted around third and slid head-first into home to give the Cavaliers a 7-1 lead.

Wade was credited with an RBI on his hit, and he scored on a three-base error.

The Cavaliers capped their scoring with two runs in the fifth inning. Sheppard led off with a double, and after Patrick reached on an error, Marchman’s RBI single made it an 8-1 game.

Lock got down a sacrifice bunt, and Zach Neighbors followed with a sacrifice fly to give Callaway a 9-1 lead.

Justin Moore got the start on the mound, and he pitched into the sixth inning before running into trouble.

With two runs in and a pair of runners on with no outs, Jabari Smith relieved Moore and got out of the inning with no more runs scoring.

Smith set the Trojans down in the seventh inning to end it.

Moore has become a vital member of the pitching staff as a freshman, and he has been effective every time out.

I feel like I can go out there and pound the zone a lot, and use my stuff to my advantage,” Moore said.

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