Nine-for-10, three home runs, three triples, 11 RBI, eight runs scored, a cycle, a two-homer game and a 4 RBI first inning by a leadoff hitter — that’s the absurd three-game series Slade Wilks put together in a sweep over Laurel Christian last week.
Any one of those stats would be mind boggling but all of them put together by one player who is only a sophomore? That’s mythical and maybe even Ruthian.
“To know what we’re getting from the leadoff spot (with Wilks) and having someone there we know is going to compete and set the tone for the rest of the order is nice,” head coach Heath Smith said. “The guys are starting to feed off of it rather than feel the pressure. When Slade doesn’t get pitched to people still have to stay within themselves and do what they can do rather than try to do things they’re not capable of. They’re starting to do a better job of that.”
While Smith acknowledges how incredible the production the Southern Miss commit produces consistently is, it’s not something that ever catches him off guard.
“You know he’s going to do something special every time he shows up to the ball park,” he said. “He’s still human and will have bad days, but we know we’re going to get a consistent effort from him. Who knows what’s next for him.”
The Columbia Academy Cougars (8-10, 3-0) followed their star’s lead, outscoring the Lions 43-1 and producing flashbacks of the 2017 state championship squad.
After the Cougars got the ball rolling March 26 on the road with an 11-1 win they returned home the following day for a doubleheader that produced a pair of routs. In the opener Wilks led off with a homer to right field then came back up to the dish with the bases loaded later in the first and ripped a three-run triple down the line. Wilks doubled and singled in his final at-bats to secure the cycle and had 6 RBI for the game.
Harrison Hartzog connected for a pair of doubles and drove in a run, Ras Pace had 3 RBI on a double and a single and Colby Thompson had two singles and an RBI. As “en fuego” as the bats were, new Jones County Junior College signee Chance Forbes was just as impressive on the bump, whirling five innings of one-hit ball and fanning seven.
In the nightcap the Cougars offense somehow got even hotter and was backed by a no-hitter on the mound by Hartzog — five innings pitched, eight strikeouts — who had only pitched a total of 1 1/3 innings in his CA career.
“Strikes,” Smith said of what made Hartzog have a career night. “The defense loves to play behind people that are throwing strikes. In the whole series we gave up three hits, but that was kind of the surprise to everybody. He hasn’t pitched consistently for me really ever. When he was in junior high he always threw strikes, and we kind of went back to the drawing board, especially with the catching staff.”
Hartzog has been the primary catcher all season long, but his gem is making Smith rethink that. Hartzog played third base last season whenever Wiley Cleland or Cam Havard pitched and will likely see time there going forward to keep him from wearing down from catching multiple games a week then starting on the mound. Smith noted having another talented catcher in Patrick Gill lessens the worry of not having Hartzog behind the dish every game.
Smith added that Hartzog embracing the looming no-no in the dugout relieved the pressure for the rest of the team.
“People aren’t supposed to talk about a no-hitter, but it takes a lot of pressure off when the pitcher is the one who is talking about it,” he said. “The expectations weren’t extremely high from the outside, so there wasn’t that added pressure of him going out there and doing that good. He was able to harness the energy, and the defense played really well behind him.”
Wilks stepped up to the plate four times and cranked two home runs, drew a pair of walks and had 4 RBI to lead the Cougars. Thomas remained hot at the dish with three singles and an RBI, while Havard, Thompson, Pace, Hartzog and Ethan Stringer each drove in two runs.
“Even balls we were getting out on were hit hard. We saw three pretty good arms from Laurel Christian, but once we got to their bullpen each game it kind of opened up a little bit. But each one of their starters was definitely a competitor on the mound, so it was nice to see the confidence build throughout the lineup,” Smith said. “It kind of gives us some satisfaction that our non-conference strength of schedule is paying off in district.”
The Cougars began another three-game district series Tuesday at Bowling Green (results unavailable) and will host the Buccaneers for a doubleheader Thursday night at 5 and 7.
“Hopefully the barrels we were finding last week carries over and the pitching, too. If we can keep that kind of pitching going where we’re throwing strikes and keeping the defense active, we’ll have success,” Smith said. “We’re going to need more than three pitchers going forward to get where we want to get, but the three senior arms we threw last week (Thomas, Forbes and Hartzog), plus (Drew) Havard and a few sophomore arms, hopefully we can mimic last week’s performance on the mound.”
Pictured Above: Columbia Academy’s Drew Havard, left, and Harrison Hartzog, right, celebrate with Slade Wilks after his leadoff home run to jumpstart a seven-run first. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
