Cougars Drop Nokomis
8-1 in Season Opener
The Cougars opened their 2005 spring season with a convincing 8-1 victory over the Nokomis Redskins
on a chilly, damp Thursday afternoon at Lions Field.
A combination of strong pitching and timely hitting were key, as Trey Garrett tossed six quality innings and
the Cougars scored six runs in the 5th to break open a 1-1 deadlock.
Garrett allowed a single and walked two of the first three hitters he faced, putting himself in a no-out
bases loaded situation, but then recorded one of his eight strikeouts on the day and induced an inning-ending double play
ball to thwart the only real threat the Redskins would put up.
After the first inning scare, he would go on to allow only one more hit over the next five innings and Spencer
Patton finished things up with a pair of strikeouts to close out the 7th.
Offensively, the Cougars waited four innings before they would score. Down 1-0, Garrett would start the frame
with a single and after designated runner Robert Slater swiped second, Nick Simmons sacrificed him to third.
Blake Lane then tried unsuccessfully to squeeze home the run, but when the pitch bounced in the dirt, it got
away from the Redskins' catcher and Slater scampered across the plate.
The Cougars busted the game wide open in the 5th by scoring six times. The big blows in the inning came from
Patton (RBI double), Lotz (RBI double), Simmons (RBI single), and Lane (RBI double).
Patton, who was 3-4 on the day, accounted for the final run when he belted a solo homer over the fence
in left-center in the sixth.
The Cougars' next game is Monday when they host the Altamont Indians at 4:30.
