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Bronaugh baseball, softball sweeps Hume
By Eric Wade
Daily Mail Sports Editor
BRONAUGH --With the threat of rain and even potentially severe weather looming, it was far less than certain whether or not the Bronaugh and Hume baseball and softball teams would be able to get Thursday's scheduled doubleheader in at all, but for once, Mother Nature didn't throw a wrench in the works and both games were played. Though they were both officially concluded, both games ended before the scheduled seven innings had been played and Bronaugh ultimately came out of the night with the sweep, taking the softball game, 12-2, and the baseball game, 11-4.
In the softball game, the Lady Wildcats took the victory by run rule, but the reason for the abbreviation of the baseball game was a bit different. That game was also called off in five innings, but this time, it was due to darkness, rather than the run rule.
In the softball contest, the Lady Wildcats wasted little time taking advantage of a dominant pitching performance by Cydnee Piper and equally prevalent struggles from her counterpart, Hume's Hannah Jacobs.
In the first inning alone, the Lady Wildcats took full advantage of four walks and two hit batters by Jacobs to open up a 4-0 lead. That effort was nearly repeated in the bottom of the second, as the Lady Wildcats got two more walks, extending their lead to 7-0 after having recorded just two hits in the contest.
Though Piper never really did get rattled throughout the contest, her control did become a bit of an issue as the innings went on. Hume was finally able to take advantage of those minor issues, plating two runs of its own in the top of the third to cut the lead back down to five, at 7-2.
Unfazed, the Lady Wildcats recovered quickly from Jacobs' only quick inning of the night to get those two runs right back in the home half of the fourth, setting up a fifth inning in which the Hume was just three runs away from a run-rule loss.
Despite four walks from Piper, head coach Tammy Metcalf's squad was unable to cut into that deficit in the top half of the frame, leaving Bronaugh coaches Rick Piper and Sean Crane knowing they could close out the game with one more rally.
That rally came just in time, as the Lady Wildcats once again took advantage of Jacobs' struggles to bring home the three runs they needed and seal the victory. By the time all was said and done, Piper took the victory, allowing two runs on two hits with eight walks and six strikeouts, while Jacobs took the loss.
The baseball game started out much differently, as the Hornets were the ones to draw first blood in what looked like it would be a close contest, in the beginning. Freshman pitcher Koltin Earnest got off to a shaky start in the contest and it didn't take head coach Colby Sisson's Hornets long to take advantage, touching him for two runs in the top of the first inning.
Despite being in an early hole, the Wildcats had little trouble doing some damage of their own, as they got to Hume starter Dakota Thornburg just as quickly. Just as quickly as the Hornets did, the Wildcats put up a pair of runs of their own to knot the score at 2-2, after an inning.
The Hornets went on to score a run in each of the next two innings, making it look as though they had found their rhythm and could take the victory. Just as lighting began to become an ever-more-prevalent issue, the Wildcats found a spark of their own, coming back to not only erase those two runs, but add three more, as well, in the home half of the third inning.
Both squads entered the contest knowing light would be a significant issue since only half of the lights that are present at the field were working. As the fourth inning began, that issue became more and more apparent and both squads knew the end of the game couldn't be far away.
Only one team took advantage of that knowledge as the Wildcats followed their third-inning rally with another one in the home half of the fourth, plating four more runs to extend their lead to seven, at 11-4.
The Hornets never were able to make any kind of a comeback, ultimately sealing the victory for Bronaugh as it simply got too dark to continue playing after the top of the fifth.
Both the Bronaugh baseball and softball teams are scheduled to get right back into action Friday, while the Hornets and Lady Hornets will get a bit of a break, taking off until next Tuesday.
Bronaugh's outing on Friday is scheduled to be at Bronaugh once again, as the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats take on Sheldon. First pitch in the opening game of the night is set for 4:30 p.m., at Bronaugh.
Hume is also scheduled to take on Sheldon in its next outing on Tuesday. First pitch in that night's opening contest is set for 4:30 p.m., at Sheldon.