Corrigan-Camden baseball never gave in Friday, and the hard work paid off, coming from behind to take a 12-11 district contest over West Sabine.
The Bulldogs were first to gain access to the scoreboard, as Michael Sullivan and Weston Wright walked, and a double steal forced a throw down to third. As the ball went into left field, Sullivan scored, making it 1-0.
An RBI-single in the top of the second evened the match at one each.
In the top of the fourth, West Sabine produced a single, double, then two sacrifice flies for runs batted in.
In the bottom half, Braylon Levy walked, Gage Thorpe sacrificed him over with a bunt, and Will Ratliff singled to drive in a run. Layton Cox and Sullivan walked to load the bags and bring in a reliever on the mound. A wild pitch scored one run and Wright reached on error, allowing two runs to score. Corrigan-Camden led 5-3 after four innings.
West Sabine fought back, tying the game once more on an error and RBI-single.
Corrigan answered in the bottom of the fifth with nearly the same start as the inning prior. Levy singled, Thorpe sacrificed him over with a grounder, and Ratliff drove in a run with a base hit. A sacrifice grounder from Cox and double by Sullivan got another run in. After five, the ‘Dogs led 7-5.
“He started out real good and he struck a bunch of us out early, but we battled and competed and made him throw a lot of pitches and got him out of there,” Bulldog coach Kevin Purvis said of the night versus Tiger starter Cayson McBride. “We finally started putting the bat on the ball and putting pressure on them and made them throw it away a little bit. We competed and played defense good until that sixth inning where we gave a little bit up, but this team needed that. We needed to fight back and score some runs and I couldn't be any more proud of them than I am right now.”
The Tigers scored five runs in the top of the sixth on a dropped strike three, three walks, two errors, and a two-run single, taking a 10-7 advantage.
Corrigan-Camden again produced in the bottom of the sixth. Cox reached on an infield single, Cooper Kilgore sacrificed him over, Blake Elam also singled in the infield and Brodie Jones knocked two in on a base hit.
West Sabine got an insurance run in the top of the seventh, as a sacrifice grounder allowed a runner from third to cross home plate.
Down by two in the bottom of the seventh, Sullivan and Wright walked, and a passed ball got a run in. Mason Murphy was hit by a pitch and Kilgore hit a sacrifice fly to drive in a run. With a runner on third, a wild pitch allowed the winning run to come in safely.
“We have been struggling this year with about seven new starters, but they are finally starting to gel at the right time,” Purvis said. “They are putting it in play and people are now playing where they are supposed to. It is a big win.
“On the mound, our pitching has been great this year. We brought back Michael Sullivan and Weston Wright and Mason Murphy. The weakness has been at the plate with seven new starters, but we have seen good pitching and now it is finally starting to pay off. We are taking a better two-strike approach and putting it in play to move the ball around.”
The coach said Corrigan-Camden is now tied for third in district with West Sabine, and still a few games behind Groveton. However, the outlook is bright for playoff hopes. Overall, the Bulldogs are 7-12, but hold a 3-3 mark in district play.
