Sitting in second place at the start of play this afternoon, the Bulldogs had a chance to take charge in the playoff race with a victory over hard-charging Hightower. Unfortunately, quiet bats and a couple of fielding miscues made for a long afternoon, as the Bulldogs lost to the Hurricanes, 7-5. With the loss, the Bulldogs are back to even on the season at 13-13 overall, with an 8-5 District 23-5A record.

The Bulldogs got on the board first this afternoon, putting up 3 runs in the top of the second inning. DH Ryan Dalton got things started with a one-out single to right, which was followed by a full-count walk to RF Daniel Rockett. 2B Andrew Keplinger broke the ice with a single to center, scoring Dalton; Rockett came home when the throw to third went into the Hightower dugout, which also allowed Keplinger to reach third. After an infield out, SS Barrett Barnes was hit-by-pitch to put runners at the corners. Up next was C Drew Miller, who worked the count full before lacing a two-out RBI single down the third base line and off the glove of the diving third baseman, scoring Keplinger and moving Barnes to third. That put the Bulldogs up 3-0.

Bulldog Starting Pitcher Caleb McKinney was on his game early, striking out the side in order in the first, and getting another 3 K’s in the second with a walk and single sprinkled in. Hightower closed the gap in the third inning, though, starting with a pesky lead-off walk to the #9 batter, Garcia. That was followed by a strikeout and a full-count walk to Lyday to put runners at first and second with one out. Hightower was aggressive on the bases, pulling a double steal – Miller’s throw to third to get the lead runner got by Viktorin; Garcia scored and Lyday moved up to third. McKinney got strikeout #8 for the second out, but that was followed by a single to right by DH Cossey to close the gap to 3-2. McKinney then made RF Babineaux strikeout victim #9 to end the third.

Hightower would catch and pass the Bulldogs in the bottom of the fourth. A lead-off bunt single was followed by a scary moment for the Bulldogs – Hightower Pitcher Wood’s high fly ball to right-center was lost in the sun at the last moment by CF Tony Gigliotti, hitting him on the top of the head and knocking him out of the game. McKinney got the first out of the inning on a sacrifice fly to right which tied the score, then notched strikeout #10. With two outs, SS Walker knocked in the go-ahead run with a single to right that took a wicked hop over 2B Keplinger. LF Lyday singled Walker home to make the score 5-3, and put an end to McKinney’s afternoon. Reliever Ryan Dalton came in and stuck out 1B Bunsey to end the fourth. Hightower would add to their lead in the bottom of the fifth. A walk and a hit batter after two were out would come around to score on a single, an error, and a passed ball, making the score 7-3 after 5 innings.

The Bulldog bats went quiet after their 3-run second, getting no hits and only 3 more base runners through the sixth. In the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs made it interesting as consecutive errors by the SS Walker put Barnes and Miller on with nobody out. Shank then hit a bad-hop single over the second baseman to score Barnes, and Miller came home on Viktorin’s RBI groundout, to make the score 7-5. That would be the end of the scoring, though, as Hightower’s Nathan Wood got the last two outs via strikeout to earn himself a complete game victory.

The playoff chase continues for the Bulldogs on Tuesday night, with a road game at Elkins, 7 p.m.

Bulldog Offensive Highlights:

· 4 hits for the Bulldogs: a single each for DH Ryan Dalton, 2B Andrew Keplinger, C Drew Miller, and 1B/LF Adam Shank.

· 4 RBIs on the game: one each for Keplinger, Miller, Shank, and 3B Scott Viktorin.

Bulldog Pitching Highlights:

· Caleb McKinney (4-2, 3-2), 3 2/3 innings, 10 K’s, 3 BB’s, 5 hits, 5 runs, 0 earned runs, and takes the loss.

· Ryan Dalton, 2 1/3 innings, 2 K’s, 3 BB’s, 1 hit, 2 runs, 1 earned run.

Winning Pitcher: Nathan Wood

Losing Pitcher: Caleb McKinney

Score by inning: