(Anita, IA) – With Tuesday’s nine-inning contest out of the way with a 4-3 win over Woodbury Central, the CAM Cougars continue in postseason action to the district championship. There were multiple key points in the game where the Cougars could’ve given up the game including in the bottom of the seventh and bottom of the ninth with bases loaded where the defense of the Cougars was able to prevail. Head Coach Drew Ticknor remarked on these key opportunities and realized that the boys capitalized on multiple chances that could’ve turned the ballgame.
Out of the three RBIs in that last game against the Wildcats, they all ended up in sacrifice hits that scored three runs for the Cougars. CAM utilized their trust in one another both at the plate and on the field to be able to earn the victory. The motto this season for the Cougars has been teamwork through and through.
Coach Ticknor has an arsenal of top pitchers and top ballplayers on the field this season. CAM’s pitchers have averaged a 3.47 ERA as a team with a 1.67 WHIP while the defense has a .918 fielding percentage. Just in their last game, the Cougars relied on two pitchers and even when Chase Spieker came out of the game with an injury, Kayden Winther stepped up to provide defense at third base and right field. To have a team that is so versatile is a critical key to postseason success.
For the third time this year, the CAM Cougars will be taking on the Coon Rapids-Bayard Crusaders. Through the regular season, CAM fell 6-1 and 6-5 in the two games against their conference opponent. As the saying goes, it’s hard to beat a team twice and it’s extremely hard to beat a team three times. While both teams know one another from the regular season, postseason play surely will offer up competitive play on the ballfield as the Crusaders are one of the top pitching teams with an overall 3.86 ERA but also rank second in Class 1A in strikeouts with 292.
The Cougars face off against the Crusaders this Saturday, July 13th on the road with the opening pitch at 7:00 p.m. KSOM 96.5 will be live for this broadcast with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m.
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