The Cougars played six games in five consecutive days and came away with victories in all but one in a grueling week of baseball.

 

Two of those wins, an 11-0 pasting of North Clay on Tuesday and an extra-inning 14-8 thriller over Cisne on Friday, left the Cougars undefeated in conference play to give them the outright title for the second year in a row.

 

On Tuesday, three pitchers combined to 1-hit the Cardinals as Nick Simmons, Tyler Mulvany, and Will Crain got the job done on the mound. Simmons picked up the win to run his record to 5-1.

 

The Cougars did all of their scoring in the first three innings as four players rapped out a pair of hits apiece to lead the barrage.

 

Robert Slater had a single and a double (1 RBI), Wade Crain with two singles (3 RBI), Chad King a single and a home run (4 RBI), and James Gile with two singles (RBI). Blake Lane, Tyler Mulvany, and Jayme Michel also contributed with one hit each.

 

On Wednesday, Wade Crain picked-up his third victory of the season by pitching six strong innings and Nick Simmons notched a save by pitching a scoreless seventh to propel the Cougars past the Effingham St. Anthony Bulldogs 8-4.

 

Every Cougar starter had at least one hit with Gile (single, double, 2 RBI) and Mulvany (two singles) leading the 11-hit attack.

 

On Thursday, the Neoga Indians handed the Cougars their second loss of the season as they bashed five home runs in the 11-5 defeat at Neoga.

 

Tyler Mulvany (1-1) suffered the loss in four innings of work and the Cougars could only muster six hits, two of those coming from Wade Crain on a single and a three-run homer.

 

On Friday, the Cougars had to use extra innings to dispose of the Cisne Runnin' Lions in what proved to be the most dramatic win of the season.

 

Trailing 8-5 in their last at bat, Robert Slater led off the inning with a solo home run to cut the lead to two. After two quick outs, Gile was hit with a pitch on a 3-2 count and Chad King followed with a two-strike, two-run homer to centerfield to tie the game.

 

Winning pitcher Nick Simmons allowed two runners to reach second and third in the bottom of the seventh, but with two outs, he induced a one-hopper back to the mound to end the threat.

 

In the Cougars half of the eighth, they exploded for six runs to go up 14-8. Blake Lane singled in two with the bases loaded and James Gile blasted a grand slam home run to highlight the uprising.

 

The Lions still wouldn't die as they loaded the bases with two outs, but Lane caught the runner at first napping and picked him off to end the game.

 

On Saturday, the Cougars made the long trip to Armstrong-Potomac and swept the hosts by scores of 7-2 and 8-7.

 

Gile, pitching for the first time this season, picked-up the win in game one by going the distance, allowing 4 hits on 5 strikeouts and 8 walks.

 

He also came up big in the offensive department when he cracked a three-run homer in the first to put the Cougars up 3-0. He later added a single and was the only player to collect more than one safety for the game.

 

In game two, Will Crain started on the mound with his JV counterparts in the field behind him and they quickly found themselves behind 4-0 after three innings.

 

Things remained quiet until the sixth when the varsity starters re-entered the game and put two runs on the board to make it 4-2.

 

With the help of several A-P mistakes in the field and a Tyler Mulvany two-run single, the Cougars scored five times in the seventh to take a 7-4 lead. But after a pair of walks and a three-run homer by A-P in their half of the inning, the game was tied and headed to extra innings.

 

Two more fielding miscues by A-P allowed the Cougars to score the eventual winning run in the eighth and relief pitcher Wade Crain (4-0) set down the side in order in the bottom of the inning to get the win.

 

The Cougars are back in action on Monday when they host the MTC conference tournament and a first-round game against the Sandoval Blackhawks at 7:00 PM.