The Austin Bulldogs ended play in the Katy Tournament with a 3-1 record after a come from behind victory over the host Rams, 6-4 at the picturesque yet well concealed baseball field at Mayde Creek High School.

The Rams got off to an early lead by putting a two-spot on the board in the bottom of the first, benefitting from a walk and an error by the Dawgs.

Held scoreless the first two innings, the Bulldogs got their first run across the plate in the top of the third when 2B Brandon Guillen legged out an infield hit, then took second on a passed ball. CF Tyler Whitaker wasted no time in driving in Guillen, as he hit a laser down the 3B line for a run scoring double. In the bottom of the inning, however, the Rams extended their lead to 4-1 by plating their #3 and clean-up hitters, taking advantage of a couple of free passes to load up the bases. The inning ended when Whitaker hauled in a deep fly ball to center to strand two Rams on the bases.

After a scoreless fourth, Austin narrowed the deficit in the top of the fifth to one by scoring Guillen, who had reached on a fielders choice, on an RBI single by SS James Sullivan; who would also score when driven in by relief pitcher Cody Brown.

Clinging to a one run lead after five innings, the Rams were forced to go to the bullpen in the sixth, which suited the Dawgs just fine as they greeted the reliever with three straight base hits by DH Sean Pringle, RF Chad Henry, and 1B Eric Abney. All three would score when Whitaker and C Chris Miller collected RBIs, with one run crossing the plate on an error by the Ram shortstop.

The Rams could never mount a serious threat after that, as Gerardo Hernandez, pitching in relief of starting pitcher Tyler Hopson recorded one scoreless inning. Cody Brown entered the game in relief of Hernandez and limited the Sheep to just one base runner over the last three innings for the win. The Bulldog pitchers combined to limit the Rams to just two hits over 7 innings of play.

Defensive highlights for the Bulldogs included 1B Eric Abney stretching out three times to record put outs at first base, including the final out of the game when SS James Sullivan went deep in the hole to get the runner by the slimmest of margins. C Chris Miller threw down to 2B Brandon Guillen to catch the speedy Ram leadoff batter attempting to steal in the second inning.

Bulldog Offensive Highlights
Hits (13), Jared Boyle (2), Sean Pringle (2), Chad Henry (2), Chris Miller (2), Brandon Guillen, Cody Brown, Tyler Whitaker, James Sullivan, Eric Abney
RBI (5), Tyler Whitaker (2), James Sullivan, Chris Miller, Cody Brown
Extra Base Hits (1), Tyler Whitaker (2B)
Stolen Bases (1), Tyler Whitaker
Bulldog Pitching Highlights
Tyler Hopson, 3 Innings, 3 K's, 6 BB's, 2 Hits, 4 Runs (3 earned)
Gerardo Hernandez, 1 Inning, 0 K's, 0 BBs, 0 Hits, 0 Runs
Cody Brown (WP), 3 Innings, 1 K, 1 BB's, 0 Hits, 0 Runs

Score by inning:

Submitted by: Allen Miller