Carter Bleeker (6) approaches a grounder at third base against Fallon Tuesday afternoon. Bleeker was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs in the win.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
Douglas High baseball gave up the opening run Tuesday afternoon on its home field, but answered with 12 of the next 13, toppling Fallon, 12-2, in six innings.
Eight of nine Tiger batters tallied at least a base hit, but it was the long ball that allowed Douglas to break the game open.
Up 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, a single and a hit-by-pitch put two runners on for Douglas senior James Hubbard.
The outfielder leaned into his second homer over the left field fence this season, bouncing a ball off the trailers beyond the Tiger outfield fence.
Two batters later, Gabe Foster touted a two-run, towering shot of his own over the right field wall for his first home run of the season.
“Overall, we’re going to get some balance and some consistency, but I love it,” said Douglas head coach Ryan Gonzalez. “That really shows his (Foster) composure.”
Foster had been hit by two pitches in two at-bats, prior to hitting the home run, including one off of the back of the helmet.
Tuesday night’s win marked the fifth straight victory for Douglas, improving the Tigers to 6-2 overall on the season.
Foster brought the game to a close with an RBI double into right-center field to score the final run, enforcing the 10-run mercy rule.
Bottom of the order starts the scoring
Douglas’ first five runs were pushed across the plate by the bottom of the Tiger order.
Jason Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly to score the Tigers’ first run in the second inning, followed by a Carter Bleeker RBI single.
Hernandez knocked in another RBI in his at-bat in the third inning, prompting the Green Wave to pull their starting pitcher.
Jeffrey Peters also put together an RBI base knock in the third inning.
“They’re real gritty down there. … These guys are pesky and they go up to the plate looking to work the count,” said Gonzalez. “I’ve always preached to our guys, you want to move up in the lineup? You’ve got to hit.”
On the bump, Noah Kohbarger surrendered a pair of runs in his four-inning outing before turning it over to Kaden McIver for the final two frames.
Kohbarger allowed four hits, but struck out five.
“He didn’t command the ball as well as we usually think does, but I believe in him and we’re going to go right back to him,” said Gonzalez of Kohbarger. “He’s one of those guys that just outworks the whole pitching staff.”
UP NEXT: Douglas (6-2, 3-0 in Class 5A league) will be back at home Thursday with an early season rematch against Spanish Springs (4-2-1, 2-0-1). The Cougars own a 7-5 win over the Tigers from March 4, but Thursday’s contest will be the first league league contest between the two. Opening pitch is expected to be at 3:45 p.m.
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