On a cold, blustery day more suited to football, the FB Austin Bulldogs and Mayde Creek Rams put up a football-like score in the second game of the Alvin Yellowjacket Tournament at Alvin College, with the Bulldogs coming out on top, 20-10; a fitting score, seeing as the Bulldogs beat these same Rams 14-0 in the Katy Tournament a couple of Saturdays back.

The Bulldogs scored early and often today, putting up at least one run in each of the six innings. The first run of the game was scored in typical Bulldog fashion, with Viktorin, Rockett, and Barnes stringing together a hit, a sacrifice, and a smash too hard for the Ram shortstop to handle.

In the second inning, though, the Bulldogs put on a hitting clinic as they batted around. C Drew Miller started things off with the first of his four hits, a double to left center. A one-out single by RF Tony Gigliotti and a sacrifice fly by SS Scott Viktorin scored pinch runner Matt Baughman, but with 2 outs the boys were nowhere near done. CF Daniel Rockett singled sharply to left center to score Gigliotti, then 2B Barrett Barnes hit a monster home run to left. After LF Adam Shank reached safely on his shot to shortstop, Coach Ursery called the same play for 3B Ryan Dalton as he did for Barnes, another 2-run homer to left field that put the Bulldogs up by a touchdown, 7-0.

The Rams managed to scratch out a run in the bottom of the second, but the Bulldogs poured it on by batting around again in the third. Miller led off with a single, and Fairbanks reached on another tough play for the Ram shortstop. With one out, Viktorin added to the Bulldog homer total with a blast of his own, a 3-run shot to left. CF Blake Doerr and Barnes both singled then scored on Shank’s double to the wall. Shank came home with the sixth run of the inning courtesy of P.J. McKinley’s hard-to-handle grounder past third base.

The Rams scored another run in the bottom of the third. The Bulldogs retaliated with a run in the fourth and a pair in the sixth. Fairbanks doubled to lead off the fourth, and came around to score on another mishandled ball on the infield, this time Doerr’s shot towards second base. In the fifth inning with McKinley aboard, Miller launched the fourth and final homer of the day for the Bulldogs, giving the team a comfortable lead of 16-2.

That lead seemed a little less comfortable after the bottom of the fifth. Starting pitcher P.J. McKinley looked sharp through his first 4 innings, then all the breaks the Bulldogs had been getting started going the Rams’ way, as they started with 5 straight hits and 3 runs scored. After a fielder’s choice for one out, two infield errors and another hit spelled the end for McKinley, as another 3 runs came in. Reliever Kevin Gelfand came in and gave up a hard-luck triple in the twisting, swirling wind that scored the 2-point conversion, but got the next two outs to finish the inning with the Bulldogs in the lead 16-10.

The Bulldogs thought time had expired at this point, but the Rams were obviously up for some more; the ‘Dogs did not disappoint. A walk to Barnes, a passed ball, and a Dalton single put up another run. With 2 outs, a grounder by pinch hitter Andrew Keplinger eluded the third baseman, bringing Miller to the plate a triple shy of the cycle; he settled for a run-scoring single to right, his fourth hit of the game. Keplinger and Miller came around to score on a single by Fairbanks and a double by RF Travis Goodrich. The Rams went quietly in their half, making the final score 20-10.

Offensive highlights:

· 19 hits for the Bulldogs: 4 for C Drew Miller (including a double and HR); 3 for 3B Ryan Dalton (including a HR); 3 for 1B Benn Fairbanks (including a double); 2 each for SS Scott Viktorin and 2B Barrett Barnes (with a HR for each); a double each for LF Adam Shank and RF Travis Goodrich; and singles for CF Daniel Rockett, RF Tony Gigliotti, and CF Blake Doerr.

· 20 RBIs on the game: 4 by Viktorin; 3 each for Barnes, Dalton, and Miller; a pair for Shank; and 1 each for Rockett, starting pitcher P.J. McKinley, Fairbanks, Doerr, and Goordich.

Pitching highlights:

· P.J. McKinley (1-0), 4-1/3 innings, 2 K’s, 3 BB’s, 11 hits, 10 runs, 6 earned runs, and the victory.

· Kevin Gelfand, 2/3 inning, 0 K, 0 BB, 1 hit, 0 runs.

· Robert Psenka, 1 inning, 0 K, 1 BB, 0 hit, 0 runs.

Defensive highlights:

· In the first inning, first base runner for the Rams was caught stealing by C Drew Miller.

· In the first inning, Dalton-to-Fairbanks for a 5-3 double play.

· In the third inning, Viktorin-to-Fairbanks for a 6-3 double play.

Score by inning: