The Shadow
SWOOPE, VA – The Covington Cougars (2-9) started off strong with a four-run first inning but were held to just one run over the next six inning as the the Buffalo Gap Bison overcame the first inning attack from by Cougars to win 14-5 Monday evening.
Both teams’ offense hit the ball well, the Bison, however, were consistent throughout the entire game. The Bison scored runs in every inning the batted in.
Micah Canterbury (3-for-3) and Luke Tinsley (2-for-2) led the Bison offense with three RBI’s each, while Haden Toler (2-for-2) had two RBI’s. In all, seven batters had runs batted in for the Bison.
Meanwhile, Garrett Gregory (W) did enough in his two innings to pick up the win. Despite the four-run first inning, Gregory settled down in the second and worked his way out of a two-out jam with runners in scoring position.
The Bison used three pitchers out of the bullpen that held the Cougars offense to just one run on six hits in five innings.
Hayden Rodgers (2-for-3), Landon Arritt (2-for-4), and Garrett Carper (2-for-3) each led the Cougars with a multi-hit day at the plate. The Cougars offense had five players with one RBI each, including Carper.
Every went right for the Cougars in the first inning. The first five batters reached base by either a hit, walk, or an error. This led to the first run scored, which led to three more scored by the time second out occurred.
In one of the plays that swung things around the other way for the Bison was in the bottom of the first inning. After three straight balls thrown to Dylan Alphin (1-for-3), Alphin received a green light on a 3-0 pitch and ripped it to deep centerfield which brought home the second run scored for the Bison on an RBI triple. Alphin would score from 90 feet away on a fielder’s choice and were back within one run.
After scoring two in the second inning to take a 5-4 lead, Toler highlighted a four-run third inning with a solo home run. The Bison pushed the lead to five runs.
In the top of the fourth inning, the Cougars missed out on a chance to add several more runs to close the gap. After the first four batters reached base, Rodgers came around to score on an Ethan Martin (0-for-2) fielder’s choice RBI groundout. With two runners on still, Nathan Yoder who came in relief of Gregory settled down and got the next two batters out to escape the inning by managing to only give up the one run.
The loss was the Cougars fifth in a row. The team returns to the diamond on Tuesday for a big Pioneer District showdown on the road in Monterey against the Highland Rams.
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
CHS 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 10 6
BGHS 3 2 4 2 1 2 X 14 11 3
Cougars Box Score
Player AB R H RBI BB SO
Rodgers, SS 3 2 2 0 1 1
Arritt, CF 4 1 2 0 0 0
Conner, C/P 3 0 1 1 0 0
Martin, 3B 2 1 0 1 0 0
N. Phillips, 3B 1 0 0 0 0 1
Hoke, LF/C 4 1 1 1 0 1
Cook, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0
Dressler, 1B 4 0 0 1 0 1
Carper, RF 3 0 2 1 0 0
Davis, RF – – – – – –
Crowder, DH 3 0 1 0 0 1
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TEAM 31 5 10 5 1 5
PITCHING
Player IP H R ER BB SO
Williams (L) 4 9 11 6 3 1
Conner 2 2 3 2 2 2
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TEAM 6 11 14 8 5 3
Bison Box Score
Player AB R H RBI BB SO
Fitzgerald, CF 5 1 1 1 0 0
Canterbury, C 3 1 2 3 0 0
Carpenter. C – – – – – –
Bright, 3B 3 0 0 0 1 0
Alphin, RF/P 3 2 1 1 1 0
Robertson, SS 3 3 1 1 1 0
Tinsley, LF 2 2 2 3 1 0
Laporte, 1B 4 2 1 1 0 1
Lewin, DH 3 1 0 0 0 1
H. Showalter, P 0 0 0 0 1 0
Toler, 2B 2 2 2 2 0 0
Cline, 2B/RF 1 0 1 0 0 0
H. Showalter, 2B 1 0 0 0 0 1
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TEAM 30 14 11 12 5 3
PITCHING
Player IP H R ER BB SO
Gregory (W) 2 4 4 2 1 1
Yoder 2 5 1 1 0 0
H. Showalter 2 0 0 0 0 2
Alphin 1 1 0 0 0 2
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TEAM 7 10 5 3 1 5
