OF 0 2 0 0 0 5 0- 7
LCM 0 0 3 1 5 0 X- 9
A week ago the Bears appeared extinct and out of the playoffs. Friday afternoon at Don Gibbens Field Little Cypress-Mauriceville outslugged the Orangefield Bobcats 9-7 to win its third straight game and earn a berth for a play-in game Saturday.
The Bears did not make it easy falling behind early and then hanging on late for the victory. Senior Drake Trawhon was the winning pitcher for LC-M and a hitting star going 2 for 4 with a homerun and two runs scored.
Down 2-0, LC-M tallied three runs in the third inning to take a lead which they never relinquished. Mitchel Lee continued his hot hitting from Tuesday with two more hits including a 2-run double in the third. Peyton Choate was two for two for the afternoon with two runs-batted-in.
A surprise hitting star for Little Cypress-Mauriceville was Jordan Alexander who was put in as a defensive replacement in the middle innings when the Bears took the lead. Alexander responded when he got a chance to swing the bat with a two-run single and later scored the Bears’ final run on a double by Choate to close out a 5-run fifth inning that saw LC-M go up 9-2.
The Bobcats responded in the top of the sixth with five runs of their own. Three singles to start the inning loaded the bases for Mason Gonzales. On a 3-1 pitch Gonzales hit a fly ball down the left field line that stayed fair and cleared the fence for a grand slam. The homerun was Mason’s second of the season and second in the game having gone yard for Orangefield’s first two runs in the second inning.
Mack Patterson who had been out for several weeks with an injury pinched hit next. After fouling off four pitches Patterson laced into a 3-2 pitch and put it over the left center field fence for a homerun that cut the Bears’ lead to two runs. Christian Fusilier relieved Trawhon and got out of the sixth inning surrendering just one more hit and no runs. Fusilier put the Bobcats down in order in the seventh to earn the save and allow LC-M to play at least more time.
With the win Little Cypress-Mauriceville finishes in a three-way tie for third place with the Hardin-Jefferson Hawks and the West Orange-Stark Mustangs. The games Saturday afternoon will be played in Jasper. The Bears will play the Hawks at 1:00. The winner of that game will play the Mustangs at 4:00. The winner of that game will represent District 24-4A as the third place team and the loser will be the fourth seed.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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