The HoCo Bears baseball team hosted the North Paulding Wolfpack (a team ranked in the top five in AAAAAAA and also a team who was a semifinalist in the Playoffs last season) earlier tonight and the result was a Bears victory 5-4 to open their round robin mini tournament.
Ethan Buffone would get the scoring started for HoCo as he hit his first career home run to left to lead off the bottom of the second to give the host a 1-0 lead. The Bears would add a second run in the frame when Isaiah Galason scored on a wild pitch to give the Black, Silver, and White a 2-0 lead going into the third inning.
The Wolfpack would cut the lead in half when Nathan Rowland hit a sac fly to left that would drive in Cade Cox. HoCo would get the lead back up to two when Hudson Sherman scored on a wild pitch and later in the same pitch sequence, Troy Carpenter scored on an error by North Paulding to push the Bears’ lead to 4-1 going into the fourth inning.
HoCo’s Eli Stephens would hit an rbi double that would drive in Vick Gann in the last of the fourth to give the host a 5-1 lead which would hold through the fifth inning. The visitors would begin to make a rally in the top half of the sixth inning and they would plate a run when Wesley Moering grounded out and Jonathan Croxton would score to make it 5-2 HoCo.
Victor Junco would be out at first via a dropped third strike and Bryce Tibbitts would score to make the score 5-3 Bears and later in the same frame, Cayden Sheffield would hit an rbi double that would drive in Cade Cox from first to cut the lead down to 5-4 in favor of the host but HoCo would be able to record the third out and get out of the inning without allowing any more runs.
The Bears would be able to shut down North Paulding in the top of the seventh by going 1-2-3 to hold off the Wolfpack and win 5-4. Eli Stephens and Ethan Buffone each had one rbi for HoCo which were the only two rbis of the night for the host. Victor Junco, Cayden Sheffield, Nathan Rowland, and Wesley Moering were each responsible for all four of North Paulding’s rbis.
Bears’ SP Will Allen surrendered one run (unearned) on three hits, walking three, and striking out eight in 3 1/3rd innings of work. Relievers’ JT Withers and Tucker Hale combined to allow three runs (all earned) on three hits, walking one, and striking out eight in 3 2/3rd innings of relief work.
North Paulding’s two pitchers combined to allow five runs (all earned) on five hits, walking six, and striking out 13 in the process. There were 29 combined strikeouts in tonight’s game. HoCo had five hits and committed three errors while the Wolfpack had six hits and committed two errors.
The Bears improve to 3-1 overall and will prep to host Flowery Branch tomorrow afternoon at 12:30pm and later play Central Ga foe Mary Persons at 5:30pm while North Paulding falls to 4-2 overall and will play Flowery Branch tomorrow morning at 10am and later play Mary Persons at 3pm.
