Sporting a 5-0 district record and a two-game lead on the pack, the Bulldogs were looking to continue adding distance between themselves and the rest of District 23-5A. Kempner had other ideas, though, jumping out to a big lead in the middle innings, then hanging on for dear life as the Bulldogs rallied late only to fall a run short in the bottom of the seventh.

Kempner struck first in this one, putting two runs on the board in the second, and ending the Bulldogs scoreless inning streak at 18. The big blow of the inning was Lammers’ two-run double that tight-roped down the first baseline. The Bulldogs would counter, though, in the bottom of the inning with a pair of their own. DH Erik Schweiger started things off with a double off the left-center wall and moved to third on a passed ball. After Doerr reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to second on a passed ball, C Matt Hills brought home Schweiger with a sacrifice fly to center. RF Tony Gigliotti plated Doerr with a two-out single to left, and he went to third on 1B Drew Miller’s double down the third baseline.

The Cougars would get to Bulldog Starting Pitcher A.J. Glasshof for 5 unearned runs in the fourth. The trouble started with a grounder headed foul veering back and bouncing off the first base bag for a single. An infield error was followed by two quick outs on a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout. Then with two outs, the Cougars collected 5 straight hits and 5 runs, including a 3-run HR by Moreno, to make the score 7-2. The Cougars continued to pour it on in the fifth and sixth, getting 3-run HRs in each inning off of Bulldog Relief Pitcher Clint VanTilborg, running the score to 13-2.

Meanwhile, Kempner Starting Pitcher Scott Grist cruised through the Bulldog line-up in the third and fourth, then started the fifth with a little trouble when he hit Gigliotti leading off and followed that with a walk to Miller. The Bulldogs were unable to capitalize, as Grist proceeded to strike out the side. The Cougars would not be so lucky in the next inning. A four-pitch walk to Schweiger leading off the sixth prompted a call to the Kempner bullpen to protect a 13-2 lead. Doerr blasted Pitch #1 from Lammers for a two-run HR to trim the lead to 13-4. Lammers would walk two of the next three (Hills and Gigliotti) before being replaced by Moreno. With one out, Miller popped one up into the twisting breeze in shallow left that the shortstop was unable to corral, advancing pinch runner Eric Hughes to third and Gigliotti to second. Hughes would try to score when the ball got by the third baseman, but he was thrown out at the plate for the second out of the inning. The Bulldogs staged a rally, though, tacking on another 6 runs. A double by SS Barrett Barnes brought home Gigliotti and Miller, and Barnes scored on Rockett’s single. After Dalton was hit by a pitch, Schweiger doubled to score Rockett, and then Doerr singled to score both Dalton and Schweiger. And just like that, the Bulldogs had narrowed the score to 13-10.

Kempner would tack on an unearned run in the top of the seventh against Dalton, and that proved to be a crucial run. In the bottom of the seventh, Kempner went to Trevor Teykl to try and save this game – his first two pitches hit Gigliotti and Miller, and ball four to Barnes hit him as well. With one out, a balk brought home Gigliotti, and Dalton brought in Miller and Barnes with a double to close the gap to 14-13. That would be where it ended, as Teykl found his groove and struck out the last two batters.

Next up for the Bulldogs, two more games in the first half of district play – a home game Tuesday night against Elkins, then on the road for a Friday night game at Frankie Field against Clements.

Bulldog Offensive Highlights:

· 10 hits for the Bulldogs, 6 for extra bases: HR and a single for LF Blake Doerr; two doubles for DH Erik Schweiger; a double each for SS Barrett Barnes, 3B Ryan Dalton, and 1B Drew Miller; and a single each for CF Daniel Rockett, C Matt Hills, and RF Tony Gigliotti

· 12 RBIs on the game: 4 for Doerr; 2 each for Barnes and Dalton; and 1 each for Rockett, Schweiger, Hills, and Gigliotti.

Bulldog Pitching Highlights:

· A.J. Glasshof (3-2, 2-1), 4 innings, 5 K’s, 0 BB, 1 HPB, 10 hits, 7 runs, 1 earned run

· Clint VanTilborg, 2 innings, 0 K’s, 3 BB’s, 1 HPB, 3 hits, 6 earned runs

· Ryan Dalton, 1 inning, 2 K’s, 1 BB, 0 hits, 1 unearned run

· Scoreless inning streak ended at 18 (Willowridge 3, Travis 7, Dulles 7, Kempner 1)

Winning Pitcher: Scott Grist

Losing Pitcher: Glasshof (3-2, 2-1)

Extra Base Hits, KEM: HR – Moreno, VonTungeln, Lammers; 2B – Fuller, C. Teykl, Lammers

Extra Base Hits, FBA: HR – Doerr; 2B – Barnes, Dalton, Schweiger (2), Miller

Score by inning:

Submitted by: Tom Miller