The Coldspring Trojans delivered a dominant performance against Hardin on Thursday, securing a 7-1 victory behind stellar pitching and solid hitting, but then fell 7-6 after a four-run opening inning in a second game on Friday at the 41st Cleveland Rotary Baseball/Softball Tournament.
The team also fell to West Fork 3-2 on Thursday, and tied with Tarkington 1-1 on Friday.
In the win over Hardin, starting pitcher McCade Hilton threw four innings with no hits and racked up six strikeouts. Reliever Jordan Ash closed the game with a hitless inning and one strikeout.
At the plate, McCall Hilton and Jordan Ash went 1-for-1, while McCade Hilton, Kasen Hubbard, James Clark 1-2and David Rowe all went 1-for-2.
Coach Austin Riddell praised his team’s all-around effort: “It was a great team win all around and it produced a combined no-hitter for the Trojans.”
However, in the Hardin loss, Coldspring started the game on the back foot, trailing in the first few innings and struggling to close the gap.
“Another tough loss,” Riddell said. “We dug ourselves into too many holes. Showed fight and didn’t fold. We once again had an opportunity to tie and take the lead late but didn’t get it done.”
Pitcher David Rowe started the game, throwing one inning and allowing three hits and four. He was relieved in the second inning by Jordan Ash, who pitched the final five innings, giving up five hits, three earned runs, and recording three strikeouts.
Offensively, Wade Currie led the way, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while Brennan Headley contributed with a 2-for-4 performance and three RBIs.
At the Cleveland Rotary tournament, the Shepherd Pirates split with host Cleveland, winning 5-2 on Thursday but losing 10-1 on Saturday.
In the Saturday loss, Jackson Hobgood had two hits and the lone run for the Pirates to lead the offense.
Tyler Scifres and Hagen Adams split mound duty, combining for two strikeouts while allowing 10 hits.
The Lady Trojans dominated Tarkington 10-0 on Feb. 25.
The Lady Horns struggled to find an answer for the powerhouse offense and dominant pitching of the Lady Trojans.
Trinity Rosales was locked in from the start, facing just 16 batters and tallying six strikeouts while allowing only one walk.
The Lady Trojans’ offense was just as sharp, racking up nine hits as a team, with younger players stepping up in a big way. Sophomore Camry Barton led the charge, going a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and two singles. Freshman Jasper Williams also made an impact, going 2-for-3 with a double, while freshman catcher Taonna McGraw displayed patience at the plate, drawing three walks.
“It’s always great to get a win, but more than the win, we are just trying to get a little better every time we hit the field,” Coach Dwain Anderson said. “We lost some big bats from last year’s team, and our younger players are really starting to step up and prove they can get the job done.”
At the Franklin tournament, the Lady Trojans went 2-1, beating Bullard 6-5 and Navasota 10-9 on Thursday, but lost to China Spring 7-3.
Against Bullard, Haylee Rosales led the team with 2 hits, while Trinity Rosales through 5 strikeouts while giving up 6 hits.
Against Navasota, Jasper Williams and Camry Barton both had 2 hits to lead the offense, while Trinity Rosales threw 4 strikeouts and allowed 9 hits on the mound.
Against China Spring, Addison Headley led with 2 hits, and Trinity Rosales threw 5 strikeouts and allowed 5 hits.
The Lady Pirates went 4-2 at the Cleveland Rotary Tournament, beating McArthur 3-0 and Vidor 5-0 on Thursday, winning over West Fork 5-2 but losing to Orangefield 13-2 on Friday, and beating host Cleveland 11-0 but losing again to Orangefield 1-0 on Saturday.
Against McArthur, Neveah Murphey had 2 runs and 2 hits, including a double, to lead the offense, while Isabelle Hooper and Graci Ballard shared the mound, tossing 3 strikeouts and allowing 3 hits.
Against Vidor, Chloe Fuller and Isabelle Hooper contributed 2 hits apiece in the win, and Hooper tossed 9 strikeouts while allowing only 3 hits.
Against West Fork, Rylei Brewer scored twice on offense, and Hooper and Ballard took turns on the mound, combining for 6 strikeouts and allowing no hits.
In the first Orangefield game, Jayci Wilson, Hooper and Skyleigh Lagow all had hits in the effort, and Swayze Nelson allowed 8 hits while only striking out 1.
While blanking Cleveland, Wilson and Lagow posted homers and the team combined for 7 hits in the win, while Hooper allowed only 1 hit while striking out 7.
In the second Orangefield game, the Lady Pirates managed only 4 hits, while Hooper hurled 17 strikeouts, she allowed 2 hits that gave Orangefield their lone run.
On Feb. 25, Shepherd downed Hudson 9-1.
Mayci Wilson had 3 hits, including a double, to lead at the plate, while Hooper tossed 11 strikeouts and allowed 6 hits on the mound.
