Cougar Streak Ends In
5-2 Loss To Maroons
Not only did the Cougars' 14 game winning streak this season come to end, so did
their combined streak of 57 games in a row over the last four fall seasons.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Dieterich got a big hit when they needed it
and senior pitcher Ted Westendorf was tough when he had to be as the Maroons captured the regular season title in an
exciting, hard-fought contest.
Even though the Cougars out-hit the Maroons by a 10-4 margin, Dieterich made every
one of theirs count, while the Cougars stranded 11 baserunners in all and couldn't get the "big hit" when they needed one.
Dieterich got on the board first when Westendorf led off the second with a double
to right-center and T.J. Irvin singled him home one out later.
The Cougars answered right back in their half of the third when a pair of Maroon
errors allowed a run to score, but a walk, a fielding error, and a pass ball by the Cougars in the bottom half of the inning
quickly broke the tie.
The Cougars tied it again in the 4th when Spencer Patton led off the inning with
a towering drive into the rightfield corner that went for a triple and Trey Garrett's ensuing RBI groundout to the second
baseman.
Starting pitcher Tyler Burns set down the Maroons in the 4th and looked to have
things well in hand in the 5th, but on strike three of his third strikeout of the inning, the ball caromed away and ended
up out of play behind the backstop and the Dieterich hitter was awarded second base.
The dangerous-hitting Westendorf was then intentionally walked and the next
Dieterich hitter, 1st baseman Tyler Will, lined a double into right-center to score two. The Cougar relay to home was wild
high and ended up bouncing through that same opening in the backstop and Will was awarded home to give the Maroons a 3-run
lead.
The Cougars didn't die, as they put two runners on in each of the last two innings,
but couldn't come up with any run-scoring hits.
Burns, the toughluck loser in this one, had a very solid outing as he allowed
only 4 Maroon hits, while striking out 10 and giving up just 2 earned runs. Although the Cougar mistakes weren't many, each
was costly and had a profound impact on the final outcome of the game.
Offensively, the Cougars were led by Patton with his three hits(single, double,
triple) and Nick Jones and Burns with two apiece.
The Cougars are back in action again on Tuesday as they entertain the Noble Wildcats
in the first round of the conference tournament at 7:00 P.M. The semifinals(Wednesday) and the finals(Friday) will be played
at back at Dieterich high school.
BOXSCORE
