Wildcats pound out 37 runs in sweep of Prairie View

Louisburg’s Jakob Krause was one of several Wildcats who found success at the plate Thursday against Prairie View. Louisburg earned the sweep over the Buffalos and are now 3-1 to start the season.

LA CYGNE – Up and down the lineup, the hits kept coming and there wasn’t much Prairie View could do to stop it, either.

The Louisburg bats came alive Thursday during a doubleheader at Prairie View High School as the Wildcats pounded out 37 runs on 23 hits in a sweep of the Buffalos.

Louisburg rolled to a 19-3 victory in the opener, and the hits didn’t stop in the nightcap as the Wildcats picked up where they left off in an 18-2 win. It was night where everyone got in on the action.

“Everyone came ready to play,” Louisburg coach Joel McGhee said. “We started off early and continued to plate runs inning after inning.  It was a fun night to be a part of and the team enjoyed it. We started the game by plating 11 runs, which can make you a bit nervous, knowing that you might head to the field to relax. But the guys came out and had a great focus in the field. They put together two very good games.”

Although several Wildcats contributed offensively, none was bigger than Garrett Caldwell. The Louisburg senior had three hits in the first game that included an inside-the-park home run and a triple, which led to 7 RBIs.

Caldwell finished with five hits and 9 RBIs between the two games, and his 3-run inside-the-park home run helped propel the Wildcats (3-1) to an 11-run first inning to start the doubleheader.

“Garrett had a solid performance,” McGhee said. “He was seeing the ball well and made solid contact. He had some hard hit balls to the gap that allowed runners to move extra bases. He also showed great hustle on the base path himself, stretching a deep line drive to center into a home run and following that up with a triple later in the game.”

Jakob Krause, Beckett Rasmussen, Chase Norton and Madden Rutherford each had 2 RBIs in game one. Rutherford scored his on a 2-run home run in the fourth inning to help seal the win for Louisburg.

Rutherford also picked up the win for the Wildcats as he pitched four innings and gave up just two earned runs to go along with six strikeouts.

The strong hitting continued in game two as Louisburg scored two runs each in the first two innings, and then broke the game open with a 5-run third and a 7-run fourth to put the game away.

Michael Rogers and Nate Swenson each had 3 RBIs to lead the Wildcats in the nightcap and Rogers had the Wildcats’ lone extra base hit with a double. Caldwell and Garrett Harding each had a pair of RBIs.

“Our offensive performance was contagious,” McGhee said. “Once we got momentum going it started to spread. We had good approaches at the plate and put ourselves in position to get the pitches we wanted to see. We had timely hits and took advantage of the extra outs we were given.”

Krause provided the Wildcats with another strong start as he went four innings and gave up just one earned run. Swenson finished the game by pitching the fifth inning and struck out the side.

“Our pitchers came out and threw well,” McGhee said. “They filled up the zone and gave the defense the opportunity to work behind them. We hit a few patches that we struggled to find the zone, but battled back to get outs.”

Louisburg will try and keep its winning streak alive today when it travels to Eudora for a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.