Jordan Meisner

Wildcats Pitching Stifle Blazers; Martin Reaches Milestone

3/11/2017 4:42:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information

Box Score

One day after an 11-3 defeat at the hands of Belhaven University, the Louisiana College baseball team responded with a far different performance in the fifth game of the Marler Ford Classic at Billy Allgood Field. The Wildcats pitching staff held the hot Blazers to just one run in the game in route to a 4-1 victory, their 11th of the season. The Wildcats were scheduled to play Eureka College on Saturday evening but rain showers postponed the matchup and the teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 12:15 p.m. Sunday.

After a scoreless first two innings of play, Belhaven got their first and only run of the game, on a 2-out solo home run from Terrell Hodges. Wildcats starter Carson Bolyer gave up back-to-back singles after the long ball and it looked as if the Blazers were going to try and blow the game open early, but Bolyer responded with a strikeout, leaving runners stranded at second and third and still a 1-0 game.

In the bottom of the inning, the Wildcats tied the game on a base hit up the middle by Ashton Martin, that scored Zane Corbell from second base, knotting the game at 1-1. The Wildcats eventually got runners to second and third with 2-out, but like Belhave, was unable to get a clutch hit as Aldridge tapped one to second for the final out of the inning.

LC would take the lead in their next trip to the plate as the second batter of the inning, Kiefer Moore, took first pitch of the at-bat over the left field wall for his second home run of the season, making the score 2-1 Wildcats. LC plated their final two runs of the game in their next at-bat on a 2-run home run from Seth Stevens, his third of the season.

With a three run lead the Wildcats were not out of the woods yet, as Belhaven had the tying run at the plate on two more occasions in the seventh and eighth innings. In the seventh, a 2-out walk put runners at first and second with five hole hitter, Daniel Ammirati at the plate and a chance to tie the game with one swing of the bat. Relief pitcher Courtney Forbes, in his first outing of the season, was able to get Ammirati to swing and miss for the final out of the inning, ending the threat. In the eight, a base hit and hit batter once again put runners at first and second but this time with just 1-out. Evan Mativi entered the game from the bullpen and got the batter to roll over on a slider grounding into an inning ending 6-3 double play.

Mativi finished the game in the ninth taking the top of Blazers lineup down in order, capped with a strikeout, for his first save of the season. Courtney Forbes got the win going 3.0 innings in relief, allowing no runs on one hit, with three walks and three strikeouts each.

"The first thing that we talked about was to keep the ball down in the strike zone," Wildcats Pitching Coach Stuart Morgan said. "Belhaven has several guys in their lineup with some pop that are able to drive the ball out of the park. The other thing we focused on was throwing inside, and it worked with Carson and he got off to a great start. The one home run he gave up, we felt was a good pitch, a good hitter just got a hold of it."

Sully Martin was the only Wildcats with more than one hit in the game, 2-for-3, and his single in the bottom of the third was the 100th hit of his career. Seth Stevens drove in two runs on his home run and Kiefer Moore one on his.

LC improves to 11-4 on the season and will play the final two games of the Marler Ford Classic on Sunday afternoon beginning at 12:15 p.m. at Billy Allgood Field. The originally scheduled Saturday LC-Eureka game will be played at 12:15 p.m. followed by the LC-Eureka game originally scheduled for Sunday at 2:15 p.m. Stay connected to Wildcats baseball all season at www.lcwildcats.net, following @LC_bsb on Twitter, or liking LC Athletics on Facebook.

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