The Cougars played their worst baseball of the season during one of their most crucial series and are now fighting for their playoff lives.
Columbia Academy (16-10, 3-3) got swept by Bowling Green (7-5, 4-2) last week in a three-game set where it was outscored 30-14 and had 28 walks, 14 wild pitches, 10 errors and seven hit batters in just 17 innings.
“We had a real rough series,” head coach Eric Johnson said. “We didn’t play good all three games and kind of put ourselves behind the 8-ball and in a tough situation.”
The Cougars did bounce back Saturday with a big win over defending AA state champ Brookhaven Academy, which Johnson said he believes got them back going.
CA began its last District 4 series of the year Tuesday night at Wayne Academy (results unavailable at press time) and will host the Jaguars (11-7, 3-1) in a doubleheader Thursday night. The Cougars can seal a playoff berth with a three-game sweep of Wayne, but one loss will put them in a serious pickle.
Wayne has to make up a doubleheader with Laurel Christian (6-8, 0-4) next Friday, and Bowling Green has a three-game series with Laurel Christian to play next week, too. With two wins and one loss against Wayne, the Cougars would then need Laurel Christian to upset Wayne in both games or sweep Bowling Green. The easiest course, though, is to take care of business against Wayne.
“At the end of the day, we still control what we do,” Johnson said. “We just have to be able to throw strikes, make the plays and most importantly come together as a team this week.”
In a 12-6 Game 1 win at CA April 2, Bowling Green tagged Slade Wilks for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings and Kyle Herring for five runs (one earned) in 4 1/3 innings. Wilks walked seven, gave up three hits and committed two errors. Ras Pace ripped a solo homer for the Cougars, and Peyton Rowell, Colby Thompson, Patrick Gill and Drew Havard each had two hits.
Game 2 Thursday at Bowling Green wasn’t any better for the Cougars as they lost 13-3. Tate Duncan walked five and gave up nine runs (six earned) in three innings, and CA committed a season-high five errors. Riles Stuart had the lone two-hit game for CA with an RBI, and Duncan plated a run with a single.
The freebies only got worse in the nightcap as the Cougars walked 12 in a 15-5 loss. Pace surrendered 11 runs (four earned) on nine walks and six hits in 4 1/3 innings, and Stuart walked three and allowed four runs while recording just two outs. Wilks accounted for most of the offense with a grand slam.
“We had a lot of two-out walks and leadoff walks, and that really sets up disaster. That’s really uncharacteristic for us, and to make things a little worse we didn’t catch a lot of balls we’ve been catching this year with routine ground balls and routine plays overall,” Johnson said.
Thompson delivered a two-hit, 4 RBI performance to lead the Cougars to the 8-4 road win over Brookhaven Academy. Wilks cranked his 10th long ball of the season, which ties him for second in the country, and Stuart had three hits. Herring delivered on the mound with four no-hit innings, and Duncan bounced back to get the win with three strong innings in relief.
“Any time you can beat Brookhaven two times in one year, it’s big,” Johnson said. “We know what kind of program they’ve got, and we know they are the favorite to win the AA state championship again.”
Johnson added that the Cougars are going to need their stars to stay in the zone to get CA into the postseason.
Pictured Above: CA's Ras Pace races out of the batter's box. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
