Beating a team three times in the same season is no simple feat, much less four times. With a Round 1 sweep over Lawrence County Friday and Saturday, the Columbia Wildcats did just that to advance to the second round.
The Wildcats (17-10) blew away the Cougars in Monticello Friday night with a 16-1 victory, aided by a nine-run sixth inning, and overcame an early 2-0 deficit to win 5-2 at home Saturday night.
“I was proud of our guys’ efforts, both Friday and Saturday, their preparation throughout the week and the maturity that we’re seeing from some of the younger guys,” Columbia head coach Kyle Lindsey said. “When you look at the overall impact on both games, we had three seniors that really handled the game. … I’m really proud of the way we played overall, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Really just one mistake in both games, and we ran the bases really well.”
After the Wildcats went down in order to start Friday’s game, a leadoff walk allowed by starting pitcher MT Breland led to an RBI single by Lawrence County to take a 1-0 lead. But aside from a two-hit fifth inning with Columbia already up six runs, Breland didn’t have to labor very much on the mound during his six-inning, complete game performance. The Co-Lin signee struck out six batters against three walks with one earned run allowed on three hits.
“That was a decision that myself and coach (Ryan) Loftin talked about all last week – who was going to start. That was MT’s first start this year,” Lindsey explained. “He’s been very, very consistent, very dominant on the mound for us out of the bullpen, and he’s really good in that spot. I like to have him to be able to go to, but, like coach Loftin and I talked about, MT can extend. He’s going to be able to handle the moment. He’s a baseball player, and he just gets out there and grinds it out.
“I don’t know what the plans will be like this week, whether we’re going to start him or throw him out of the pen, but I can tell you one thing: He’s gonna be out there on the mound at some point.”
It took until the third inning for the Wildcat offense to find a rhythm Friday night, with Dillon Rowley getting the action going with an RBI single to score Breland, and Collin Haney scored on a throwing error to put Columbia up 2-1.
Then in the fourth inning, Brayden Thornhill scored on a wild pitch just two pitches before Patrick Peters ripped an RBI single to left field. Then Breland drove in two runs on a double to left two batters later to make it 6-1. Thornhill added an insurance run with a solo shot to left in the fifth inning, overcoming a swinging 0-2 count in the process, before Lawrence County errors and walks allowed Columbia to send nine runners across home in the sixth inning en route to a 16-1 victory.
Breland led the way with two hits and 3 RBI from the leadoff spot, with Rowley and Jonathan Lowery each driving in a pair of runs.
On Saturday, the Wildcats fell behind in the first inning again after the Cougars recorded an RBI single and scored another run via error on the same play. While it took the Wildcats longer to take control of the game, Saturday ended with the same result as Friday.
With the bases loaded in the second, Peters drove in Thornhill on a double play, but Lowery was tagged out trying to score another run on the same play, resulting in a triple play to squander a ba-ses-loaded, no-out opportunity.
But then in the third inning, Rowley hit a line drive single to right field to score both Breland and Haney to give Columbia a 3-2 lead. Then in the fourth inning, Peters recorded an RBI groundout and Breland doubled to right to score Lowery, making it 5-2.
With Haney on the bump, the Wildcats only faced danger in the sixth inning after the senior hit a batter sandwiched by a pair of two-out walks to load the bases. He watched his 0-2 count on the next batter turn into a full count, but he induced a 6-3 groundout to end the frame unscathed. In total, he delivered one of his best outings of the season, striking out 13 batters against two walks with two unearned runs allowed on two hits.
“Collin took the ball like we know Collin can, and he shut them down,” Lindsey said. “He gave up two hits in the first inning, and that’s all they got the rest of the way.”
As a result of the Round 1 victory, the Wildcats are set to face Region 8-4A’s Pass Christian (11-16) in the second round. The Pirates, who finished third in their district, swept Mendenhall 10-0 and 12-1 in the opening round. Columbia beat Mendenhall 16-4 in the two schools’ lone meeting this season, and other common opponents include Sumrall and Forrest County AHS, who Pass Christian was a combined 0-3 against with a run differential of -22.
“They’re very, very well coached. And along with that, their guys compete,” Lindsey said. “On the mound, they’ve got one guy that’s pretty doggone good and a bunch of guys that scrap behind him. With a team like that that’s very well coached that doesn’t quit, you’ve got to match that ener-gy on the other side. You’ve got to do your best to put them away whenever you have a chance to.”
Game 1 emanates from Pass Christian Friday at 7 p.m., with Game 2 set for 7 p.m. Saturday at John Sapen Field. If necessary, Game 3 takes place Monday on the Coast.
