Published: May 15, 2008 07:24 pm            

Cougars fall in 3A semifinals

DECATUR — The Newton County Cougars ran into a buzzsaw in the form of the Sumrall Bobcats in the Class 3A South State championship series last week.

Sumrall swept the Cougars 14-6 and 10-8 to advance to the Class 3A state championship series with Mooreville.

Batting in 13 innings in the two games, Sumrall racked up 29 hits and scored 24 runs in improving to 30-6.

“They swung the bats very well,” Newton County coach Wyatt Tullos said. “They’re a very good ballclub.

“They’re very well-coached, they hit the ball up and down the lineup, they pitch very well, and they field well. Their infield is very good — they made a ton of plays at third, second, and short.

“I think they’ll have a very good chance of winning (state).

“But I’m proud of our guys too. They fought. They battled. I’m proud of this group of seniors and what they’ve done for our program. In four years, they’ve won the division twice and been runner-up twice. They won a state championship (in 2006).”

Newton County finished its season with a 28-9 record.



Sumrall 14, Newton County 6

The Bobcats had 14 hits and scored in every inning of Thursday’s series opener at Sumrall.

In improving to 29-6, Sumrall jumped on Cougar starter Jose Acosta (8-2) for nine runs and nine hits in the first three innings.

Sumrall scored three runs in the first inning, then added two more in the second, and four in the third, including a solo home run by Michael McGrew.

Newton County had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a dropped fly ball in the outfield.

The Bobcats tallied three times in the bottom of the first as Jake Hawkins tripled and scored on a single by Bryn Whitehead. Adrian Lee’s double made it 2-1 and a sacrifice fly by Joe Byrd made it 3-1.

In the bottom of the second, Whitehead and Ethan Applewhite both doubled to put Sumrall up 4-1. Lee drove in another run with the third double of the frame.

The Sumrall lead grew to 9-1 in the third with McGrew belting a solo homer.

Newton County second baseman Patrick Ezell led off the top of the fourth with a homer to cut the deficit to 9-2.

The Cougars got another run in the inning only to have Chase Lewallen hit a solo homer to left-center for Sumrall in the bottom of the fourth to put the Bobcats up 10-3.

Newton County picked up three runs in the top of the fifth. Hank Pugh was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Tyler Robinson lined a two-run single to close the gap to 10-6.

Lee made it 12-6 with a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fifth.

Jeremy May had two singles for the Cougars, 28-8. Drew Wilson and Tyler Laird both had a single.

Jared Miller (7-0) threw 3 2/3 innings to get the win with Luke Lowrey throwing the final 3 1/3 innings.

Hawkins had two singles and a triple for the Bobcats. Lee had a single, a double, and a home run.



Sumrall 10, County 8

The Cougars grabbed an early 6-2 lead in Friday’s Game 2 at Decatur but were unable to hold on as Sumrall scored eight straight runs to take a 10-6 lead.

The Cougars finished with a 28-9 record while Sumrall, 30-6, moves on to the Class 3A state championship series.

Newton County led 6-2 after three innings, but the Bobcats scored eight consecutive runs to take a 10-6 lead.

The Cougars picked up single runs in the sixth and seventh frames and had the tying runs in scoring position in the seventh before Sumrall reliever Jake Hawkins closed out the win.

Sumrall hammered 15 hits with seven going for extra bases. The bottom four batters were 9-for-14 with six RBI.

The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a solo homer by Jeremy May.

Sumrall tied the game in the top of the second as Chase Lewallen hit a leadoff triple to right-center and scored on a sacrifice fly by Joe Byrd.

Cole Harris recaptured the lead for Newton County with a two-run homer off Adrian Lee in the bottom of the second.

Bryn Whitehead cut the Cougar lead to 3-2 in the top of the third as he singled, advanced two bases on wild pitches, and scored when Lee grounded into a double play.

Newton County upped its lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the third as Patrick Ezell hit an RBI double and Harris greeted Bobcat reliever Jim Roseberry with a two-run single to left field.

The Sumrall bats came alive in the fourth as Roseberry hit a two-run double to right-center and Whitehead reached when his hit took a high hop that Cougar shortstop Tyler Laird was unable to grab.

The Bobcats collected five straight hits off Drew Wilson (6-1) in the top of the fifth to take control. Lewallen had an RBI single with Michael McGrew’s two-run triple giving Sumrall a 9-6 lead.

Ethan Applewhite extended the lead to 10-6 with a solo homer to center field in the top of the sixth.

In the bottom of the frame, Colton Amis led off with a triple in the right field corner and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hank Pugh.

In the bottom of the seventh, Jose Acosta led off with a double and scored on a one-out double by Ezell. Tyler Robinson reached when his fly ball was dropped in right field, but Hawkins retired the only two batters he faced to earn a save.

“They fought and didn’t quit even with some injuries,” Cougars head coach Wyatt Tullos said of his team. “I’m proud of them for the effort they gave.”

May, Acosta, Ezell, Harris, and Amis each had two hits for the Cougars. Harris had four RBI.

Lewallen had three hits for Sumrall with Whitehead, Applewhite, Byrd, Roseberry, and McGrew each getting two.

        

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