Staff writer
LEITCHFIELD - The Cougar freshman baseball team improved its season record to 7-4 on Monday by taking a pair of games from the visiting Panthers of Elizabethtown.
In the opener, eighth-grade right-hander Tyler Saltsman threw a no-hitter at the Panthers, shortstop Bennett Skaggs went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and center-fielder Alphonso Soto ripped a home run in his first at bat. All that added up to a 7-0 shutout.
In the second game, eighth-grader T. J. Wood tossed a two-hitter at the visitors and the Cougars scored once in the first and twice each in the second and third innings to take a 5-1 win. The only E'town run in the game was unearned in the first inning.
GAME ONE
The Panthers could not solve Saltsman's offering over the five innings of the game. The right-hander walked three batters to give the Panthers their only base runners on the day and Saltsman picked one of those off second base in the fourth inning. Saltsman finished with seven strikeouts.
The Cougars scored all they would need in the first inning. Skaggs led off the inning with the first of his three singles, then stole second base. Skaggs then baited catcher Jake Goldman into trying to pick him off at second and continued on to third with a stolen base. When the ball sailed into center-field, Skaggs scored the first run of the day.
With one out, Soto got all of a 1-0 fastball from starter and loser Drew Morgan and launched it over the fence just to the left of the 350-foot sign in right-center field to make it 2-0.
With two outs, Jordan White singled up the middle and was replaced on the base paths by Johnathan Higdon, who promptly stole second base. Tyler Cockriel followed by ripping a Morgan pitch to the wall in right-center that went for a triple to drive in Higdon with the third run of the inning.
The Cougars added another run in the third inning. Skaggs led off with a single and stole second base. He then pulled the same play he had done in the first, dancing off the bag and getting Goldman to throw to second as Skaggs easily took third. Skaggs then scored easily on a ground out to third by Mike Scott.
The Cougars scored three more in the fourth. With one out, catcher Adrian Board walked and reached second on an errant pickoff attempt by Morgan. First-baseman Deuce Dunn followed with a single to right that drove in Board to make it 5-0.
Wood followed with a solid single to left and both runners advanced on a ground out by second-baseman Steven Jones. Skaggs followed with his third straight single, a ringing shot up the middle that drove in both runners to make it 7-0.
Saltsman sailed along, retiring nine straight men from the first to the fourth inning before walking two runners with one out. Saltsman then picked off courtesy runner Matt Hepner for the second out and struck out third-baseman David Amos to end the inning. Saltsman then struck out the first two batters in the fifth inning before getting Jacob Hood to ground out to Jones at second to cap off the no-hitter.
GAME TWO
Wood started strongly for the Cougars in the first, retiring the first two batters before being undone by the defense. Goodman hit a bouncer up the middle that Skaggs got to, but failed to glove cleanly and Goodman was safe on the error.
Wood then walked first-baseman Sean Peary and left-fielder Mason Haynes followed with a single to right that plated Goodman with the first run. That was all the Panthers would get, though, as Wood retired pitcher Tim Gilkerson on a pop-up to end the inning.
Gilkerson would be the first of 10 straight batters Wood would retire before giving up a leadoff walk in the fifth inning. The Cougars then pulled off a double play with Dunn fielding the ball at first, firing the ball to Skaggs for the out at second and then Skaggs returning the throw to Wood covering at first for the 3-6-1 double play.
Wood gave up a two-out single to third-baseman Matt Schnuck, but got shortstop Josh Braden to hit into a force out to end the game.
Grayson County got a single run in the bottom of the first that tied things at 1-1. Saltsman, playing left field in this game, ripped a one-out double into the gap in right-center, then reached third on an errant pickoff attempt by Gilkerson. Soto then hit a high pop up at the back edge of the infield. Second-baseman Clinton Hamilton back-pedaled to make the catch for the second out, but Saltsman was able to tag up on the play and score before Hamilton's weak throw could be relayed home.
Grayson County added two more in the second to go in front for good. With one out, Board singled to right, then stole second base. Dunn followed by looping a dunker into short center field that went for a hit. Board got a late jump, but was safe at third, with Dunn reaching second on the throw trying to get Board.
Board scored and Dunn went to third on a wild pitch to make it 2-1, then Wood laid down a perfect bunt that got past Gilkerson on the mound for an RBI single to make it 3-1.
The Cougars closed out the scoring with two more runs in the third. Soto beat out a one-out bunt, stole second, then reached third when Braden let the throw get by him for an error. Scott drove Soto in with a ground out to make it 4-1.
White reached base on an error by the pitcher and was replaced on the bases by Higdon, who then stole second and went to third when the throw bounced into center field. Cockriel followed with a looper into right that went for a run-scoring double to make it 5-1.
The Cougars threatened again in the fourth, putting runners at the corners with one out, but Skaggs' line drive was speared at second by Hamilton and turned into a double play as Jones, who had walked, strayed too far off the base.
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