The Southwest Mississippi Community College baseball team swept a doubleheader from the visiting LSU-Alexandria Generals JV squad Wednesday evening, taking the opener 12-1 before getting three runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the finale 5-4.
The win moved the Bears to 7-1 on the young season.
The Bears picked up an RBI single from Ross Buckley, the first of his two hits and three RBI in the game, and a two-RBI hit from Kaleb Clarke to take a 3-0 first-inning lead in game one. The Generals then used a double and error to make the score 3-1 in the top of the second.
A walk to Clarke and Dylan Spiers’ single to center in the bottom of the third increased the Bears’ lead to 4-1. They made it 6-1 in their half of the fourth when L.D. Coney led off with a base hit and scored three batters later on Buckley’s ground out. Brady Anderson, on base via an error, then crossed the plate following another error.
The score went to 7-1 in the Bears’ fifth when Spiers singled with two outs and scored on Coney’s hit to left.
The Bears broke the game wide open in the sixth inning. Brady Anderson got things started with a double and when the smoke cleared, 10 Bears had come to bat and five runners had crossed the plate for a 12-1 lead and the final score.
Jacob Buchanan went the distance on the mound to get the win for the Bears. He surrendered a run on four hits while striking out four. Walt Aldridge had two hits in the game.
The Bears trailed 4-0 in the nightcap before getting on the board in the bottom of the second when Alex Smith reached base on a two-out walk and scored on an error to make it 4-1.
Jarvis Warner led off the Bears’ second with a double and later scored on Anderson’s sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2.
The Generals’ lead held up until the Bears pulled out the win with a wild bottom of the seventh.
With one out, Warner and Aldridge both reached base on a walk. A two-out error resulted in Clarke reaching base and sent Warner and courtesy runner John Marcus McDowell (on base for Aldridge) racing home to tie the game at 4-4. After an intentional walk to Anderson, another error allowed Clarke to race across the plate for the winning run.
Braden Smith pitched one inning in relief, walking one, to pick up the win for the Bears. Starter Carr Young went four innings, giving up four runs on five hits and a walk while striking out nine. Brady Wilson struck out one in his one inning on the mound.
SMCC head coach Ken Jackson praised his team’s pitching.
“I thought our pitching kept us in the ball game,” Jackson said. “We didn’t swing the bats very well and they gave us a chance to win.
“Jacob Buchanan pitched very well the first game and of course Carr Young, Brady Wilson and Braden Smith pitched very well the second game.”
The Bears return to the diamond Saturday afternoon when they host the Statesmen of Lincoln Trail College. The first pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m.
