(Anita, IA) — The CAM Cougars were looking to beat the Woodbine Tigers by mercy rule in the fourth inning; by the top of the sixth, the Cougars were inches away from being the victim of the mercy rule.
It was all CAM in the first three innings. After a fruitless top of the first for the Tigers, CAM opened up the game with two doubles from Chase Spieker and Brayden Chester, resulting in a three-run lead going into the second inning. The Tigers stranded one in the top half of the inning, and CAM responded with six hits in a row, extending the lead to 8-0. The Cougar defense sent the Tigers down in order in the top of the third, and added another run to the scoreboard in the bottom half with Chester batting in Carson McKee on a single to left field. A scoreless fourth inning from both teams was the calm before the storm, as the Tigers brought in 13 runs in the top of the fifth. When asked what contributed to the comeback, shortstop Cal Pryor said that the attitude of the team was important:
Pryor came in to relief in the bottom of the fifth, and said that his slider was working well for him against the CAM offense:
CAM began to fight back by responding with two runs courtesy of another pair of doubles by Spieker and Chester, which brought the score to 13-11. An RBI single from Cody Dickinson extended Woodbine’s lead to 14-11 in the top of the sixth. After a scoreless half-inning from the Cougars, the Tigers gained a second wind with a two-out grand slam to center field from sophomore Micah Moores, and brought in two more runs directly after. The Cougars tried to string together a rally in their last out, with Zach Kauffman lining to center field for an RBI single, however couldn’t keep up with the Tigers’ strong offense.
Makade Paulsen takes the loss for the Cougars, striking out three and allowing nine earned runs and three walks. The Cougars host the Audubon Wheelers in their next match-up, and the Tigers will host the Boyer Valley Bulldogs.
