Wildcats salvage doubleheader at Eudora with 15 runs in nightcap

Louisburg freshman Bristol Barbour looks to turn a double play after getting the out at third Tuesday at Eudora. The Wildcats lost the doubleheader opener, but rallied to take the second game, 15-0.

EUDORA — Last week’s doubleheader at Eudora was quite the roller coaster for the Louisburg baseball team.

The Wildcats jumped out to a big lead in game one, only to see Eudora rally back to hand Louisburg an 11-10 loss. In the nightcap, the Wildcats took off from the opening pitch.

Louisburg used a 12-run second inning to pull away for a 15-0 victory Tuesday over the Cardinals to salvage a road split. The Wildcats are now 12-6 on the year heading into their final doubleheader of the season.

“We were definitely hoping for a sweep, but the guys answered well after the tough loss in game one,” Louisburg coach Kade Larson said. “We hit really well all night and just had some costly mistakes that came back to bite us in the end. We will learn from this one and try to fix those mistakes moving forward.”

In the nightcap, the Wildcats took advantage of a couple Eudora mistakes and walked eight times to keep themselves active on the base paths.

Jack Anderson led the Louisburg bats with a pair of hits, to go along with 4 RBIs and senior Kaleb Carter finished with a hit and three runs driven in.

Brody McGreer added a pair of RBIs and two hits, while Jackson Howard also drove home two runs to go along with a hit and two walks.

Danny Napier had a pair of hits and an RBI, while Corbin Hamman, who ran for Napier, scored three times. Luke Schultz and Wyatt Holland also had an RBI base hit. 

Sophomore Alex Saad started the game for Louisburg and had no problems with the Cardinals. Saad didn’t allow a hit in the 3-inning game, worked around three walks and struck out five.

The Wildcats also got good starting pitching in the opener as Hamman, who was coming back from a minor injury, went 4 1/3 innings and gave up just two earned runs and struck out seven.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Eudora took advantage of four Louisburg errors as nine of its 11 runs were unearned.

Louisburg took an 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Cardinals answered with seven runs in the bottom of the frame to take an 11-7 advantage.

The Wildcats scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but could get no closer.

Junior Declan Battle led the Wildcat bats from the leadoff spot as he finished with two hits and a run driven in. Freshman Bristol Barbour delivered a big hit with a 2-run triple to give Louisburg a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning.

Louisburg added on to its lead in the sixth thanks to back-to-back RBI doubles from Napier and Saad. Junior Nathaniel Lamm also finished with a pair of hits and 2 RBIs.

McGreer and Howard each added RBIs, while senior Jackson Kush scored a pair of runs and he also had a double.

The Wildcats will finish up the regular season with Senior Night this Tuesday as they host rival Paola for a doubleheader at Lewis-Young Park. Senior Night ceremonies will be held in between games. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.