Columbia Academy (12-14, 7-2) concluded its regular season playing four games in the past week but likely didn’t do enough to secure a district title.
In the first game of a three-game series April 10, the Cougars couldn’t muster enough offense to come back late in a 7-5 loss to Wayne Academy.
Slade Wilks led the charge with a perfect 3-for-3 performance with a home run and 2 RBI, while Patrick Gill plated a pair of runs and Colby Thompson had an RBI single. Aaron Thomas took the loss on the mound, allowing five earned runs on eight hits and one walk in four innings.
In the matinee of a doubleheader April 12 against Wayne, the Cougars turned to ace Chance Forbes to change the tide of the series, and he delivered with seven shutout innings, striking out six in a 5-0 win.
The Cougars needed just four hits to provide enough offense to buoy Forbes’s gem. Thomas and Gill each had 2 RBI, and Drew Havard had an RBI single. Wilks ripped a triple and scored two runs, and Harrison Hartzog had a base knock.
The Cougars and Wayne needed extra innings to decide the nightcap with Wayne walking off in the bottom of the ninth to secure a 7-6 win and likely the district title.
Wilks launched long ball No. 11 on the season and drove in a pair to pace Columbia Academy at the plate. Tate Duncan and Thompson both had RBI knocks and Hartzog drove in a run. Duncan gave the Cougars five strong innings on the bump, allowing two earned runs on six hits and three walks while striking out seven.
“For 23 innings we were locked into a very competitive battle. The kids were engaged, and there were times we had to battle back. In the win Chance gave us a shutout, and we knew what we were going to get with him,” head coach Heath Smith said. “Aaron competed pretty good in Game 1, and we saw a good relief appearance from Drew.
“Tate Duncan had a great start and gave us a great shot to win the ball game (in Game 3). We played really good defense. They put the bat on the ball and found some holes to tie up the game in the seventh inning. We took the lead in the ninth, but when the bottom of the ninth rolled around it could have been a little of fatigue or a little bit of shrinking of the strike zone. Both team’s strike zones shrank a little bit, and it was definitely fair. But we struggled zoning in on the tighter strike zone late and weren’t able to close the game.”
With the district shakeup heading into the school year the Cougars lost district rivals, but Smith believes they developed a new one.
“The thing we were really wanting to replace this year with losing district opponents was creating that rivalry, and I think we found it in Wayne Academy,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get another shot at them this year, but if not then next year. Going forward I feel really good about how our guys competed in their first playoff type atmosphere.”
The Cougars closed out the season in a non-district showdown at Hattiesburg Monday night but couldn’t quite hang with the 5A powerhouse. A five-run fourth lifted the floodgates as Hattiesburg cruised to a 10-4 victory.
Wilks, Duncan and Ethan Stringer each drove in a run, while Hartzog had a pair of singles and Thomas and Ras Pace each had a base knock. Havard lasted 3 1/3 innings to start the game, allowing eight runs on seven hits and five walks. Thomas was solid in 2 2/3 in relief, allowing just one hit and striking out three.
As of deadline Tuesday, the Cougars were a game back of Wayne in the district standings and would lose out on the tiebreaker. Columbia Academy would need Bowling Green to sweep Wayne in a doubleheader Tuesday night to secure the district title. However, the Cougars have already clinched a playoff berth and will know their first-round fate late Tuesday night. If the standings hold pat, Columbia Academy will match up with Silliman Institute in the first round next week.
“We’re very familiar. We’ve never played them in a playoff series, but we’ve always seen their best shots,” Smith said. “If we can get past that series, I’ll feel really good because they are always one of the elite AAA ball clubs.”
Last season the Cougars were not only one of the premier offensive teams in the state but in the nation as well. However, if it wasn’t for their consistent pitching throughout the playoffs they likely wouldn’t have won the state title. That consistency hasn’t been matched so far this season, but Smith believes the Cougars have the capability to get there.
“The scouting report on us is we’re going to hit. Even though we’re not putting up the big power numbers, teams are still pitching around us and our on-base percentage is higher than it was last year. A lot of that is we’re not getting hittable pitches,” he said. “We averaged five to six runs a game in the Wayne series, but it’s going to come down to whether or not our pitching gives us a chance to win late.”
Pictured Above: Aaron Thomas slides safely into third base. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
