Cougar pitcher Joseph Anthony fielded a sacrifice bunt and threw out DH Jacob Baxter in the seventh inning.

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Third-baseman Logan Stevenson fielded this ground ball for the final out of the first inning.

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Joseph Anthonmy threw to first-baseman Rance Whobrey in an attempt to pick off Russellville's Seth Washington.

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Third-baseman Logan Stevenson fielded a bunt and threw to first for an out, but Russellville's Caleb Wills scored the first run of the game on the play.

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Ty Davis threw to first for the final out of the fifth inning.

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By Don Brown

For the second year in a row, the Cougars baseball team absorbed a loss to the Russellville Panthers last Friday evening at Bowling Green Ballpark, this time by a 3-0 score.

Right-hander Joseph Anthony allowed just one earned run in his seven innings of work but was tagged with the loss as the Cougar bats were mostly silent against the Panthers’ Crewsdon Kemp. Anthony allowed just seven hits, but an error opened the door for a pair of fifth-inning runs that put him in the loser’s column. Anthony walked two and struck out three.

The Cougars had just one runner advance as far as second base. That came in the sixth inning with two outs. Back-to-back singles by Dalton Logsdon and Jakob Clemons put runners at first and second. Designated hitter Nathan Clemons hit a ball on a line, but shortstop Barrett Croslin was right there to grab it to get Kemp out of the jam.

That was the only Cougar threat on the day. Kemp later worked a 1-2-3 seventh to nail down the win.

The Panthers put a runner at second base with two outs in the third inning, but Anthony induced Croslin to ground to Jameson Van Meter at second for the final out.

The Panthers scored all they would need in the fifth inning. Left-fielder Caleb Wills led off by hitting a grounder to Ty Davis at short. Davis fielded the ball cleanly, but his throw was high and pulled Justin Calvert off the bag and Wills was safe at first.

Third-baseman Zach Lee followed by looping a ball into short right-center that fell for a hit and put runners at the corners with no outs. Right-fielder Tyler Hall laid down a sacrifice bunt which Cougar third-baseman Logan Stevenson fielded for the first out, but Wills was able to come home on the throw as Lee advanced to second.

Anthony retired DH Jacob Baxter on a line out to Logsdon in center-field for the second out, but catcher Seth Washington ripped a ball to left for a single that plated the second run.

Russellville added an insurance run in the sixth inning. With one out, first-baseman Corey Wright walked, then went to third when second-baseman Zach Denney doubled to the wall in left-center. Wills followed by lofting a fly ball to right which plated Wright on the sacrifice.

The Cougars had just five hits off Kemp, who walked no one and struck out one. Grayson County is now 20-10 on the season.