In what has become a disturbing trend
during the second half of the season, the Cougar defense fell apart for a single inning and opened the door for their
opponent to take advantage of the mistakes.
This time it was at Effingham as the St. Anthony Bulldogs put seven runs on
the board in the fourth inning enroute to a 9-3 victory over the Cougars.
The fatefull inning saw the Cougars committ four errors to let the Bulldogs
tie the score at three before their 3rd place hitter blasted a grand slam to give them a four-run cushion.
The game actually started in the Cougars' favor as they pushed across two runs
in their first at-bat as Kyle Monical, Tyler Gillett, and Dylan Sill all had hits to grab the early lead.
They would add another run in the third when Sill was hit by a pitch and after
he advanced to third on an errant pick-off throw, Ian King rolled an RBI grounder to 2nd to make it 3-0.
But in the bottom of the fourth the walls came crashing down as the Cougars
surrended the seven runs, all unearned, and they could never recover.
Derek Harmeier was the tough luck loser as he pitched all six innings allowing
9 runs (2 earned) on 11 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts.
Offensively, the Cougars were once again paced by Tyler Gillet with a single,
a double, and 1 RBI. Kyle Monical chipped in with a double while Cole Armstrong and Dylan Sill added one hit apiece.
The Cougars are back in action on Friday when they close out their regular
season with a conference game against the Noble Wildcats at Lions Field at 7:00 PM.
