Wildcats rally for road win over Ottawa

Louisburg catcher Jackson Howard tags out an Ottawa runner at the plate Friday during a make-up game in Ottawa.

OTTAWA — Reeling after a sweep just the day before, the Louisburg baseball team tried to get back on the winning track Friday in a make-up game against Ottawa.

It didn’t look good at first as the Wildcats trailed by two runs going into the fifth inning. From there, Louisburg got big hits and took advantage of a couple Ottawa miscues.

The Wildcats scored 12 runs in the final three innings and came away with a 14-6 victory over the Cyclones at Orlis Cox Park in Ottawa.

“Coming back to beat Ottawa after dropping two close ones to Anderson County was huge for us,” Louisburg coach Kade Larson said. “Both teams are solid and we kept competing and it paid off against Ottawa. Our offense kept the pressure on Ottawa all night. They made some mistakes and we capitalized on them. We swung the bats well and our defense did enough to hold on for the win.”

Brandon Doles got things started for the Wildcats (6-9) as he hit a solo home run in the first inning to give Louisburg the lead — albeit it a brief one.

Ottawa went on to score four unanswered runs and the Cyclones held a 4-2 lead going into the the fifth inning.

It was there that the Wildcats scored four runs in the inning. Brody McGreer got the scoring started when he doubled home Doles.

Junior Corbin Hamman later scored on a wild pitch and McGreer scored on an Ottawa throwing error. Sophomore Jackson Howard would later score after a dropped third strike on Mack Newell.

Ottawa tied it up at 6-all in its half of the fifth, but the Wildcats responded with three more in the sixth. Kolby Kattau scored on a Maverick Rockers single, while Howard had big single that drove home Rockers and Doles.

In the seventh, the Wildcats widened its lead even more when Declan Battle scored on a wild pitch and Hamman singled to score Jackson Kush and Kattau. Doles would go on to score on a passed ball and Hamman came home on an Ottawa throwing error.

Rockers led the Wildcat bats with three hits, while Doles had two hits, two walks and scored four times. Howard also had two hits and three runs scored.

“Doles and Maverick really led us all night at the plate,” Larson said. “Both brought a huge spark for us that everyone else fed off of. Howard came up big for us as well with a two-out 2 RBI hit. Once that happened it seemed like the guys really locked in and our defense stepped up from there on.”

Newell started the game for the Wildcats and got the win after going five innings, while Doles came in for the final two innings to get the save.

Louisburg will try for back-to-back wins today when the Wildcats host Eudora (3-14) for Senior Night.

Wildcats drop a pair to Anderson County

GARNETT — Louisburg went up against one of the top teams in Class 3A on Thursday when the Wildcats traveled to Anderson County for a doubleheader.

Although the Wildcats hung tough, they left Garnett without a win. Louisburg fell to Anderson County 7-4 in game one and lost a close 6-5 contest in the nightcap.

The Wildcats went up against Anderson County ace Derek Rockers in the opener. Rockers gave up four runs on seven hits to the Wildcats, but struck out 11 batters in the process.

“Derek Rockers is a really great pitcher and we kept pressure on him the whole first game,” Larson said. “We just had a few too many mistakes to push past and get the win.”

Declan Battle led the Wildcat offense with three hits, including a double and an RBI. Doles also finished with two hits, a double and a run driven in. Maverick Rockers and Jackson Kush brought home the other Wildcat runs.

In the nightcap, the Wildcats used a 3-run fifth inning to take a 6-5 lead over the Bulldogs. However, Anderson County scored a run in the bottom of the fifth and seventh innings to escape with a win.

“In game 2 we had guys on base all night,” Larson said, “We struggled getting them home from scoring position. Anderson County was opportunistic and scored at the right time. We will clean up the situational hitting and learn from that game moving forward.”

Kolby Kattau had a big game at the plate with three hits, including a pair of doubles. Junior Cade Driskell had three runs driven in to lead the Wildcats and finished the game with two hits.

Kush and Brody McGreer also had RBI hits for Louisburg.

Corbin Hamman started the game for Louisburg and gave up three earned runs on seven hits and struck out seven in five innings.