Wildcats pick up tough road win Friday
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The Sulphur Springs Wildcats traveled to Mount Pleasant Friday, looking to pick up a road win against one of the top teams in District 15-5A. The Wildcats knew they’d have a tough match on their hands, going against a Mount Pleasant team who was 5-1 in district play entering the evening.
Mayer Millsap wasted no time getting the Wildcats’ bats going, starting the game with a leadoff single on a line drive to left. Colt Silman followed with a sacrifice bunt, moving Millsap into scoring position.
Later in the frame Matthew Mitchell reached base on a hit-by-pitch, before Cole Haney could move Millsap over to third with a fly out to center.
With Millsap now on third base, Ty Stroud was able to bring him in on a grounder to short that should’ve been a fielders choice. With everybody reaching safely, Millsap was able to come in, giving Sulphur Springs an early 1-0 lead.
Matthew Sherman was the starting pitcher for the Wildcats and he was able to find his groove from the very beginning. Sherman got a quick pair of outs, before walking the Tigers three-hole hitter. The walk didn’t phase Sherman, however, as he quickly got the next batter to pop out in foul territory.
Looking to keep their momentum going, Colby Albritton got a rally started in the top of the second, hitting a two-out single. Millsap followed by reaching on an error, advancing Albritton all the way to third.
On the next at-bat Millsap was able to come in on a passed ball, scoring for the second time and putting the Wildcats ahead 2-0.
Both teams were quietly offensively for the next few innings, as Sherman continued to have a dominate outing. The Wildcats starter didn’t allow a single hit over the second and third innings and was able to work his way out of a jam in the bottom of the fourth to hold on to the two-run lead.
In the bottom of the fifth the Tigers were finally able to get on the board, as Sherman threw a wild pitch with runners on second and third, bringing in the first Mount Pleasant run of the night. Sherman got the next batter to pop out, escaping the inning with the lead still intact.
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Looking to get their run back in the top of the sixth, Brady Driver hit a two-out single to wake the bats back up. A pair of walks loaded the bases for Millsap who came through with a two-out single, bringing in Driver and putting the Wildcats up 3-1.
Sherman answered back with a quick frame in the bottom of the sixth, setting his team up to close out the game in the bottom of the seventh.
With their backs against the wall, Mount Pleasant opened the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff single against Aydan Alvarez. After a quick ground out, the Tigers drew a walk, putting runners on first and second with just one out, and the potential game-winning run at the plate.
Sulphur Springs then brought in Albritton to hopefully close the game out, just needing two outs. Albritton got the first batter he faced to ground out, though a run was able to score, making the score 3-2 with the tying run on third base.
Albritton stayed calm, getting ahead in the count 1-2 after a foul ball and a swinging strike. On the next pitch he was able to force a fly out to centerfield, giving Sulphur Springs the 3-2 win and picking up the save in the process.
Sherman got the win for the Wildcats, having an excellent outing on the mound. In six innings of work he allowed just one run on three hits, while picking up four strikeouts.
Millsap led the team offensively, going 2-for-4 on the day. He also scored twice and drove in one run, playing a part in all three of the Wildcats runs.
Stroud was right there with him, also going 2-for-4 and driving in one run. Driver had the only other hit for Sulphur Springs.
The win pushes the Wildcats record to 5-13 on the year and makes them 2-5 in district play. Though they are currently in sixth place in the district, they trail both the four and five seeds by just one game.
They will look to cover some ground in the standings Tuesday with a road match against Texas High. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and coverage of the game will be provided on Front Porch News.
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