Baldwin ruins Louisburg season opener with sweep

Louisburg shortstop Maverick Rockers tags out a runner trying to steal second base Tuesday at Lewis-Young Park.

As happy as it was to get the season started, a lot of what the Louisburg baseball team felt following its season opening doubleheader was just frustration.

During their doubleheader Tuesday at Lewis-Young Park, the Wildcats couldn’t take advantage of opportunities in either game against Baldwin as they fell 8-3 and 14-9.

In the two games combined, the Wildcats left 20 runners on base and couldn’t get the big hit when they need it the most.

“Biggest problem we had throughout the night was runners left on base and not putting the ball into play enough,” Louisburg coach Kade Larson said. “Overall we had 20 left on base and 16 strikeouts. Situational hitting to find ways to get guys home will be key moving forward.”

In the opener, Baldwin jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning before the Wildcats were able to get on the board when junior Corbin Hamman tripled and scored on a wild pitch.

Louisburg had a chance to get back in it in the bottom of the sixth. Hammon doubled and scored on a single by sophomore Brody McGreer.

The Wildcats eventually loaded the bases with no outs, but could only get one more run across which came on a sacrifice fly from Kolby Kattau that scored pinch-runner Sam Hastings.

From there, Baldwin added two more runs in the top of the seventh to seal the win for the Bulldogs. Defense also hurt the Wildcats as they committed six errors, which led to four unearned runs.

Senior Brandon Doles started the game and struck out five in less than four innings and gave up four earned runs. Junior Mack Newell came for relief and struck out six and allowed no earned in three innings of work.

In the nightcap, Lousiburg found itself in a big hole early as Baldwin scored four runs in the first and three in the second to take a 7-0 advantage.

The Wildcats’ offense would come alive as they scored nine runs on seven hits, but Baldwin scored four more times in the fourth and three in the fifth to hand Louisburg its second loss.

Kattau led the Wildcat offense with a pair of hits, including a triple. Cade Driskell, Declan Battle, Hamman and McGreer each had a hit and an RBI. Newell and Parker Hufferd also had RBIs for the Wildcats.

“We kept battling until the end and I loved seeing that throughout the night,” Larson said. “We had some guys hit the ball hard which was good to see. Moving forward we just have to be opportunistic at the plate with guys on base to find a way to get them in.”

Louisburg will try for its first win of the season this Tuesday as it hosts Spring Hill for a doubleheader at Lewis-Young Park. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.