Pioneers down Devils to open final district series – Mullican hits for the cycle in Lebanon win

By ROB NUNLEY

The Pioneer baseball team will be looking to complete a District 7-AAA sweep today, when it plays host to the Lebanon Blue Devils for a 4 p.m. Senior Day showdown.

Warren County opened its series Saturday afternoon at Lebanon?s Veterans Field, with junior center fielder Kyle Mullican leading the club to a 9-1 victory which improved the Pioneers? league record to 7-6.

Mullican hit for ?the cycle,? going 4-for-5, and put the Pioneers on the board early, slamming the first pitch he saw from Christian Jennings over the right-center wall for his fourth home run of the season.

Clint Newman added his fourth homer of the year as well, belting a two-run shot in the sixth to help the Pioneers expand their lead.

Lebanon tied the score in the bottom of the first, answering Mullican?s shot when Dexter Cross drove home Drew Brockette, but the Pioneers retook the lead with two runs in the top of the second.

The bases were loaded with one out when Lane McCoy came to the plate in the Pioneer half of the second, and although his grounder up the middle was thrown home in time to retire Derrin Rogers, the toss to first in an attempt to get McCoy went into right field, allowing Chase Basham and Zack Fisher to score for a 3-1 WCHS lead.

Mullican struck again in the third, doubling to left to start the inning and coming home on a two-out hit to right by Rogers. After Pioneer starter Josh Mullins retired the Devils in the bottom of the third, Mullican came through yet again, tripling to left with two out in the fourth and coming home on a Newman single up the middle. Newman?s homer in the sixth made it 7-1, and in the seventh Mullican connected with a cycle-completing single, plating Rogers and Basham with the game?s final runs.

Mullins went the distance, improving to 5-3 on the year. He gave up six hits and two walks, fanning five Blue Devils.

With a loss by Riverdale in its Saturday night game against Siegel and a Pioneer win today, WCHS would finish as the third-place team in the final district standings.