Have yourself a weekend Trey Hobgood. The senior first baseman put on a show at the plate for the Columbia Wildcats over a three-day span and went 6-for-9 with three home runs, 6 RBI and one mammoth walk-off grand slam.
After the Wildcats (7-2, 1-0) fell behind 10-6 to Walker (Ala.) heading into the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday morning in their final game of the Adidas Deep South Tournament, Columbia cut the deficit down to 10-8 on the heels of an RBI single by Jonathan Turnage. Then Hobgood stepped to the plate and sent the Columbia fans home happy with the four-run blast, leading to a 12-10 win. For the season the Pearl River Community College signee is hitting a robust .591 with a .719 on-base percentage and 1.050 slugging percentage after a 2-for-2 showing Monday night.
Head coach Greg Owen credited Hobgood’s success to his “composure and confidence in himself.”
“He puts more work than anybody into it before practice and after practice,” Owen said. “It’s good to see those reps pay off now.”
Those reps paid off tenfold for the Wildcats as well as they bounced back from a 7-0 loss to Vancleave Thursday night to win three straight in four days, beginning with an 11-2 victory over Childersburg (Ala.) Friday.
Landon Sanders went 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Hobgood launched two solo home runs and scored three runs. Cole Pearson drove in two runs with a double and a single, Cannon Mock had two singles and Reagan Davis and Harrison Miller each had 2 RBI. Pearson (three innings) and Miller (two innings) each held Childersburg scoreless, while Jonathan Turnage picked up the win with two innings, allowing two runs, in relief.
Saturday’s thriller against Walker showed this Columbia team may very well be a contender in 3A this season. Walker boasts a powerful lineup and hit three home runs off the Wildcats, including a three-run shot in the top of the seventh to take a 10-6 lead. But the Wildcats bounced back and scored six runs in the bottom half of the inning, buoyed by Hobgood’s grand salami, and found a way to win.
“What has been a mark of this team this year is our seniors have done a great job leading. The guys don’t let the moment get too big,” Owen said. “They just stay focused.”
Sanders showed off his power as well with a three-run shot in the second and while he lined out to left field in his next at-bat, it may have been the hardest hit ball in a game that featured five home runs. Turnage, Mock and Grady Lucas each had two hits, while Alex Morgan and Aiden Singley both had RBI singles.
The Wildcats carried the momentum from their come-from-behind win into their district opener at home Monday night, besting Wesson 9-1.
“We were (one of) the only teams playing in our district last night, and we talked about making a statement early on,” Owen said. “With a chance to do that and always wanting to defend your home, last night it was a big one for us to get started off on the right track.”
Miller held the Cobras bats at bay, allowing just one run over five innings on four hits while striking out four to pick up the win, and Singley closed the game out with two shutout innings. Pearson, Sanders and Miller each drove in two runs to pace the Columbia offense.
While the Wildcats are playing great baseball to begin the season, Owen identified a couple areas they can still improve.
“We’re making a couple great (defensive) plays a game, but there’s still one or two routine plays we have to clean up,” he said. “Then we really need to have some consistency through the lineup. We’re scoring in a lot of innings, but we’re looking for those crooked numbers and big innings — three runs or more.”
With several its seven wins coming against bigger schools and five against out-of-state competition, Columbia’s ceiling this season may be as high as it’s been in several years, but Owen doesn’t want the success to get ahold of his team.
“We just keep focusing on the next pitch and the next game. We keep telling our kids to play hard and at the end look up at the scoreboard. To try and forecast what the future could hold would be to go against what we believe in,” he said. “But the tenacity that they play with, if you play with that kind of passion and intensity, you’ll always have a chance. You never know where that could lead to.”
The Wildcats played Wesson on the road Tuesday night, but results were unavailable. They will play host to Bogue Chitto Thursday night at 6:05 and Purvis Saturday night at 6:30.
Pictured Above: Columbia second baseman Cole Pearson throws a runner out at first base. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
