On the heels of a disappointing loss to Purvis Feb. 2, Columbia Academy rebounded with a big win in a rematch against the Tornadoes and got over .500 with an easy victory over Russell Christian Academy last week.
The Cougars (4-3), who lost 11-7 to Purvis the first time around, dominated the Tornadoes at home March 1 with a 12-2 win.
Eighth-grader Roman Lawrence stepped up big time for the Cougars on the mound and may just be that second starter they have been searching for behind fellow eighth-grade phenom Logan Buckley. Lawrence allowed two runs on just two hits while striking out four across six innings to earn the victory.
Head coach Keith Stanley said Lawrence’s performance was big and that even though he expected the middle schooler to pitch well, he wasn’t expecting him to throw that well across six innings.
“I expected him to be able to hold his own and compete well because that’s just what he does, but he took it to a whole other level to stretch it out to six innings, which we haven’t had this year. To have an eighth grader to step up into that role and shut down a 4A public school, it’s real encouraging to see for this year and years to come.”
Lawrence possesses an “electric” arsenal on the bump, according to Stanley, with a fastball that checks in between 78-80 mph and can get up to 81 mph when he’s rolling with adrenaline. On top of that, his breaking ball is on track to be a college-level pitch.
“He has an unbelievable breaking ball for his age. I would almost say it’s a next-level breaking ball already as an eighth grader,” Stanley said. “He has a changeup that we haven’t quite thrown it a lot yet, but as the year goes on, he’ll use it more and more as he feels more comfortable with it.”
While his natural stuff is mightily impressive, Stanley said what stands out the most about Lawrence is his fearlessness to compete.
“Since the moment I called him up as a seventh grader, he competes. Every batter, he’s looking him dead in the eye, and he’s wanting to get them out,” he said. “No matter the stuff, what we’re looking for here is someone who gives it their all. That’s what he does. It’s really impressive to see at his age — how hard he competes every pitch.”
At the plate, Stanley said the Cougars did exactly what the coaching staff preaches — attack first-pitch fastballs in the zone — and it resulted in a 15-hit performance.
“That’s something I’ve been trying to pound in our hitters’ heads since I’ve been the head coach,” he said. “Kids are finally starting to buy into it, and you can tell. Our top of the order hitters and our middle of the order hitters are seeing the first pitch and hammering it.”
Jones College signee Hays Carley led the way with a double, two singles and 3 RBI, and Zach Lowery plated three runs with a trio of singles. Holton Hartzog tripled and singled to drive in two runs, and Jacob Reid plated two with a single.
With the help of a 10-run first inning, the Cougars needed just three frames to take down Russell Christian 15-0 at home Friday.
After losing a couple games on the schedule in January, the Cougars added Russell Christian to the schedule without knowing much about the Meridian school. Stanley said he would’ve been a little disappointed if the game had made it to the fifth inning, but that wasn’t necessary. CA attacked Russell Christian’s pitchers early in the count, and it paid off with 18 hits.
Carley led of the game with a home run and added an RBI single later in the game. Carver continued his ascension as a feared bat in the lineup with three more hits and an RBI, while Lowery doubled, singled and led the Cougars with 3 RBI. Holdyn Sandifer brought two runners home with a pair of singles, and Lawrence laced an RBI double.
Hartzog recovered from a string of rough performances on the mound with two strong innings of scoreless ball while striking out three. Owen Simmons finished out the shutout with a scoreless inning in relief.
The Cougars started a two-game series with West Marion at home Tuesday night, but results were unavailable at press time for Game 1. They will head to The Swamp Friday night for Game 2 against West Marion.
The Trojans have had CA’s number in recent seasons, and while Stanley said he wants the Cougars to approach the series like they would any other, he and the players are anxious to flip the script on West Marion.
“We want to kind of prove how good Columbia Academy baseball is compared to everybody else in the county,” he said. “We’re fired up.”
Following the series with West Marion, the Cougars will take on East Marion for the first time in recent memory at home Saturday.
