There’s gonna be a showdown! Quitman and Weston High Schools both won on Thursday to set the stage for a pair of crucial contests against each other this week that will have great bearings on who wins the District 1B baseball title.
The first battle will take place at Quitman on Monday, March 27th. Whoever loses that one will get a chance at redemption just two days later (March 29th) in a rematch at the Jackson Parish Recreation Dept. Sports Complex.
The pair of parish rivals both blasted their respective foes for a second time on Thursday with Quitman crushing Castor 14-3 and Weston whipping Doyline 11-0 to improve to 2-0 in 1B play while dropping both of their opponents to 0-2 and out of the race. The victories were similar to the results from two days before when Quitman beat Castor 11-1 and Weston topped Doyline 13-0.
Jonesboro-Hodge will also be in action on Tuesday, March 28th for the first time in eight days when they will host winless Wossman (0-5), looking to gain their third victory of the season and put an end to a three-game skid.
Weston 11 Doyline 0: Tait Henderson struck out four of the first five batters he faced and allowed only a fourth-inning single to lift Weston to their second straight shutout and third “ten run” rule victory in a row. Offensively the Wolves had 18 batters reach base in four innings via eight hits, eight walks, and two hit batsmen leading to four runs in the first and six more in the second to blow the game open.
Drew Browning led the onslaught with two hits that included a double, stole a base, scored a run, and knocked in a season-best five runs. Bryce Zehr also came up big, scoring three runs, stealing two bases, and collecting two hits for a third straight game that has lifted his batting average from .294 to .344 over the period.
Cole Blundell also contributed by getting on base three times with a single and two walks, scoring a run and knocking in two more. Cole Tolar got a two-base hit and also got hit to reach twice as did Sawyer Watkins who singled and walked and drove in a run. Braden Theriot walked twice, scored twice, and got an RBI and a stolen base while Jacob Gill also coaxed two free passes and scored a run. Cooper Delaney and Henderson, who also added an RBI, both scored a run as well after walking and getting a hit respectively. Drew Williams also crossed home plate to round out the scoring.
Doyline (2-12, 0-2) 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 1 0
Weston (10-10, 2-0) 4 6 1 0 x – 11 8 0
WP – Henderson 3-1, LP – Mingo
2B – Browning, Tolar
RBI – Browning 5, Blundell 2, Henderson, Theriot, Watkins
RS – Zehr 3, Theriot 2, Browning, Blundell, Henderson, Gill, Delaney, Williams
SB – Zehr 2, Browning, Henderson, Theriot
Quitman 14 Castor 3: Saddling the home team with their worst loss of the season by hitting eight singles, reaching base on eight errors, and getting eight free passes, Quitman saw every starter either get a hit or score a run. What was most impressive was what the Wolverines did once they reached base. Led by a career-high five stolen bases by Maddox Duck and four thefts each by Logan Ponder and Ian Tilley, Quitman ran wild to setting a new season standard of 17 steals in a game.
Cam Deal drove in three runs, Ponder and Duck scored three times while John Reagan Hasley and Riley Duck added two more. Blake Carter, Tilley, Kase West, Hasley, Jake Potts, and Pete Simonelli all drove in a run as well as Quitman posted a five spot in the third and fifth inning to win going away. Tilley ran his record to 2-1, striking out 8 over four innings before giving way to Ponder, who closed the game by striking out the side in the fifth and final frame.
Quitman (6-10, 2-0) 1 3 5 0 5 – 14 8 0
Castor (8-4, 0-2) 2 0 1 0 0 – 3 7 8
WP – Tilley (2-1), LP – Cooper
RBI – Deal 3, Carter, Tilley, West, Potts, Simonelli
RS – Ponder 3, M. Duck 3, Hasley 2, R. Duck 2, Carter, Tilley, West, Simonelli
SB – M. Duck 5, Ponder 4, Tilley 4, R. Duck 2, Hasley, Carter
