Hornets Split With Wildcats

By Clint Cox
The Cottondale Hornets baseball squad played host to Bethlehem on Tuesday in a double header that saw the Hornets win big in game one and fall by one run in game two. Cody Saye got the win in game one as he pitched the Hornets to a 12-2 victory in five innings. He went the distance, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and striking out 7 Wildcats. Patrick McClain went 2-2 with 4 RBI and Joe Farren went 2-3 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored to lead Cottondale on offense.
In game two the Wildcats scored two early runs when the Hornets walked both runners home. The Hornets trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the fourth when McClain led off the inning with a single. After stealing second base McClain scored on a RBI single by Jerrod Whitehead to tie the game at 2-2. Jeremy Anderson replaced Whitehead on the base pads and Chris Clemmons singled to give the Hornets runners at first and second. A sacrifice bunt by Josh Gainer moved the runners to second and third and then Anderson came home on a wild pitch to give Cottondale a 3-2 lead. Bethlehem responded by tying the game at 3-3 in the top of the fifth.
The Hornets missed an opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of fifth after getting runners to second and third with two outs. But the Wildcats got the third out to kill the Hornet rally. Bethlehem followed that up with a two run home run in the top of the sixth and then added another run later in the inning to make it 6-3. Cottondale mounted a rally in the bottom of the sixth when Drew Bellamy stroked a stand up double to center field and then scored on a RBI single by Farren. Aaron O’Bert followed up with a RBI single to score Farren to cut the lead to 6-5. But that was as close as the Hornets could come and the game was called in the sixth inning due to being a double header. With the split Cottondale now stands at 5-4 on the season.