WCMS baseball downs Sparta 11-5
The Warren County Middle School baseball team got off to a slow start in Monday’s home game against Sparta, then erupted for a big inning on the way to an 11-5 victory at Patrick Ramsey Field.
Three errors and a hit by Sparta helped them to four runs (three unearned) in the top of the first, but the Pioneers got to work at the plate in the bottom of the second inning, breaking the game open with eight runs on seven hits.
Josh Moore led things off with a single to center field, and Andy Southard followed with a double. Casey Talbert walked to load the bases, and a wild pitch brought home Moore with the Pioneers’ first run.
Chase Officer walked, reloading the bases, and with one out Lane McCoy singled home Southard.
Kyle Mullican, who got the start on the hill for WCMS, helped his own cause with a two-run double which scored Talbert and Officer, and McCoy came home with the go-ahead run on another Sparta wild pitch.
Clint Newman scored Mullican from third with an RBI groundout, and Justin Bouldin and Moore followed with back-to-back singles, setting the stage for a two-run base hit from Southard which made it an 8-4 Pioneer lead.
Stewart Mitchell doubled for the visitors in the fourth, and scored on an RBI grounder from Seth McDonald, but the Pioneers added another run in the fifth when McCoy singled and eventually scored on Mullican’s sacrifice fly.
Warren County posted two more insurance runs in the sixth. Bouldin led off the frame with an infield single, stole second, and came home on Moore’s RBI single to right. Talbert singled with one out, bringing in Moore with Warren County’s final run.
Mullican — who allowed just three hits on the day — fanned the Sparta leadoff batter to start the seventh, and Clint Newman gunned out Matt Mitchell, who tried to steal second after being hit by a pitch, for the second out. Mullican then put the exclamation point on the victory by fanning Aaron Puckett on a called third strike to end the game.
The Pioneers find themselves back in action Thursday night, when they’ll take on Algood at the Civic Center complex.