Columbia Academy’s lackluster season came to a close in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs as the Cougars were swept by Riverfield Academy to end the season on a 15-game losing streak.
While that losing streak may seem ugly, Columbia Academy (6-24) actually played some of its best baseball of the season against Riverfield. The Cougars lost Game 1 18-7 in a contest that was a one-run game for a long time before the wheels fell off then were beat 3-2 on the road April 22.
“Riverfield is probably one of the better MAIS teams that we’ve seen,” head coach Keith Stanley said. “The first game, the score doesn’t do us justice because it was a one-score game all the way until the last inning. They have some really, really good ball players we had to try to get out. The second game, that was the best baseball we played all year.
“Logan (Buckley) got the ball on the mound, and he saved his best performance for last,” he continued. “As a seventh grader, he shut down a big-time lineup. We outhit them, we outfielded them; we went into extras and lost it in the eighth inning on a walk-off passed ball. It was heartbreaking for our guys because they played hard and with a lot of energy like I always ask them to do.”
Stanley added that nobody expected the Cougars to be in the playoffs after graduating so much talent last season, let alone compete with one of the best teams in MAIS in the postseason, so he’s extremely proud of his team.
Although the Cougars will have a sour taste in their mouth all offseason over how they finished the year, there remains plenty of reasons for optimism. They only graduate two full-time starters (Robert Johnson and Trevor Courtney), along with a designated hitter (Clay Mikell) who was in the lineup quite a bit, and there were several underclassmen who showed promise.
“The future is incredibly bright,” Stanley said. “We’re losing Robert, who is one of our better hitters, and we’re losing Trevor, who is one of our better arms. If you’re only losing two, you’ve got a good future ahead. I thought we did a really good job getting our young guys’ feet wet this year, and I expect big things next year and the years after.”
Leadoff man Hays Carley turned into a star at the top of the order, batting .448 with nine extra-base hits, two home runs, 13 RBI, 29 runs scored and 16 stolen bases. He led the team in batting average, on-base percentage, doubles, triples, runs scored and stolen bases, and he even hit for the cycle. Jeffrey Pennington and Holdyn Sandifer also emerged as tough outs at the dish, both batting above .300 while driving in a combined 23 runs.
Buckley was a revelation both at the plate and on the mound as a middle schooler, delivering with seven extra-base hits, including two long balls, and leading the pitching staff in innings pitched (32 2/3), strikeouts (54) and ERA (2.79).
The Cougars will need some pitching to develop behind Buckley next season to compete for a district title because the next best returning arm (Carley), in terms of ERA, posted a 7.00. Stanley said the Cougars have the talent waiting in the pipeline with seventh-grader Roman Lawrence and sophomores Mason Smith and Holton Hartzog, who battled a back issue all season.
“We have the arms, but they just have to step up to a new role and learn how to get varsity outs instead of JV outs,” he said.
