Baseball Splits Double Header with Westfield

The varsity baseball team split a mid-week doubleheader last night against HCC opponent Westfield.  In game one, the Bulldogs started out a little slow dropping to a 4-0 deficit after the 1^st inning; however, some hot sticks at the plate pulled the Bulldogs into striking distance as they scored 3 in the 4^th inning to bring the score to 4-3.  In the top of the 5^th the Bulldogs surrendered 2 more runs and were only able to put 1 run up in the 6^th.  The game ended in a 6-4 loss for the Dogs.  Juniors Ty McCoy and senior Dalton Carter pitched for the Bulldogs and senior Mike Hartnagel led the Dogs with a 3-4 night at the plate.  The Bulldogs were able to put up 13 hits in the first game, but timely mistakes cost them the game.

 

In the night cap, the Bulldogs continued their offensive explosion by posting 11 hits and scoring 8 runs.  Sophomore Caleb Sampen took the mound for the night game and held the Shamrocks at bay all night, only allowing 6 hits and 1 run while striking out 6 Westfield batters.  At the plate, the Bulldogs were led by junior 3B Cody Gill (2-4 on the night), junior DH Tyler Westrich (2 runs scored); junior CF Tyler Houston (2-4 w/1 RBI); senior Haden Shipman (2-4 on the night) and senior SS Mike Hartnagel (2-4 for the game 5-8 on the night). The Bulldogs moved to 7-5 on the regular season and 3-4 in HCC play.  The Dogs will travel to Speedway this weekend before hosting conference and school rival Avon on Monday night.