The Sudan Hornets’ varsity baseball team dropped game one of their three-game series with the Tahoka Bulldogs on Thursday, 11-4, in Sudan.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 14-9 overall on the year.
Cal Carter started on the mound for the Hornets, pitching 5.2 innings, giving up six hits, four walks and nine runs, three earned. Kyler Edwards pitched the final 1.1 innings, giving up two hits and two runs, 0 earned, while striking out two batters.
In the top of the first inning, Carter got Jordan Hicks to ground out to Julian Salas at first base for out number one, but Brogan Stone drew a walk and took second on a pitch, before Dante Garcia hit a shot to right field for an RBI-double on an error by Kincaid Boehning, putting the Bulldogs in front, 1-0.
Garcia took third on a passed ball, before Sam Kessler drove him in with an RBI-single to left field, stretching their lead to, 2-0. Kessler took second on a pitch, before Cayden Gutierrez hit a sacrifice chopper to Carter on the mound, who got the out at first, as Kessler advanced to third on the play with two outs.
Bek McCleskey drove in a run with an RBI-single to left field, making the score, 3-0, but Hurley Liendo was tagged out on a dropped third strike by Dylan Provence to retire the side.
The Hornets couldn’t get anything going in the bottom half of the inning, as Carter flew out to Gutierrez in center field for out number one. Jaibryn Ornelas and Caleb Groetken would both strike out swinging to end the inning.
Both teams went scoreless through the second inning, but in the top of the third, Garcia singled up the middle and took second on a pitch, before Kessler flew out to Boehning in rightcenter field for out number one. Garcia took third on a passed ball, before Gutierrez drew a walk to put runners on the corners for Tahoka.
Gutierrez took second on a pitch, before McCleskey struck out swinging for out number two. Liendo hit a shot to third that got under the glove of Aybran Granados for a two-RBI double to stretch the lead to, 5-0. Martin Vera-Carlton would be thrown out at first by Dylan Provence on a dropped third strike to retire the side.
In the home-half of the third, Boehning drew a lead-off walk, but Granados struck out swinging for out number one. Boehning took second on a pitch, before Haden Provence popped up to Vera-Carlton at first base for out number two. Carter picked him up with an RBI-double off of the rightfield fence to get the Hornets on the board, trimming the lead to, 5-1.
Ornelas drew a walk, as Carter broke for third on the pitch and the throw down to third by Kessler got by Garcia allowing Carter to score and Ornelas to advance to third, cutting the lead to, 5-2. Groetken, though, would chop out up the middle to end the inning.
Josiah Quinonez drew a lead-off walk to begin the top of the fourth inning, but Hicks hit into a fielder’s choice to Haden Provence at shortstop, who flipped it to Marcello King at second base for the out. Stone was thrown out at first on a dropped third strike by Dylan Provence, as Hicks advanced to third on the play.
Hicks would score on a passed ball to make the score, 6-2, before Garcia chopped out to Granados at third base to retire the side.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Dylan Provence flew out to left field for out number one, but Julian Salas drew a walk to give the Hornets a base runner. King struck out for out number two, but Boehning drew a walk and Granados was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Sudan. However, Haden Provence struck out looking to end the inning.
The Hornet defense kept the Bulldogs quiet in the top of the fifth, and in the bottom half of the inning, Carter drew a lead-off walk before Ornelas struck out swinging for out number one. Carter stole second on a passed ball and Groetken drew a walk as Carter took third on the play, as the ball got by Kessler behind the plate, putting runners on the corners.
Groetken took second on a pitch, before Dylan Provence struck out swinging for out number two. Oscar Rendon relieved McCleskey on the mound for Tahoka, as he gave up a walk to Salas to load the bases for Sudan. However, the Hornets would strand the runners on base, as King struck out swinging to end the inning.
In the top of the sixth, Vera-Carlton singled to right field to lead things off, and he would steal second on a passed ball, as Quinonez struck out swinging for out number one. Hicks was hit by a pitch and Stone followed it up with an RBI-double to right center field to make the score, 7-2.
Garcia struck out swinging for out number two, as Kyler Edwards relieved Carter on the mound for the Hornets. Kessler hit an RBI-single to right field, taking second on the throw home from Boehning, extending the lead to, 9-2. Gutierrez followed it up with an RBI-single on a hit to Carter at shortstop, but a throwing error to first landed Gutierrez on second, as Tahoka stretched their lead to, 10-2. McCleskey struck out swinging to retire the side.
Tahoka would add a run in the top of the seventh to make the score, 112, before the Hornets came to the plate in the bottom half of the inning.
Ornelas led things off with a single to right field and he took second on a pitch, before Groetken drew a walk. The runners pulled off a double steal on a pitch, before Dylan Provence hit a sacrifice to Stone at shortstop, who bobbled it, but got the out at first, as Ornelas scored to trim the lead to, 113. Salas hit a sacrifice fly to Hicks in left field, as Groetken tagged-up and scored from third to make the score, 11-4. But, King would strike out to end the game, as Sudan fell in game one to Tahoka, 11-4.
The Hornets were at Tahoka for game two and potentially game three on Friday. Results were not available at press time.