Bats awaken late, AA Rams earn spilt, 6- 5
It was a rough first 10 innings for Lakeside’s batters. Coming alive late in the second game of an American Legion doubleheader salvaged a split.
Two of the Class AA Rams’ least experienced players — Kyle Lightsey and Colby Cockrell — drove in the go- ahead and eventual winning runs in the fourth inning of the nightcap, Lakeside rallying for a 6- 5 win in five innings ( time limit) over visiting Benton Everett GMC Saturday. Everett scored a tiebreaking run in the sixth for a 2- 1 victory in the opener.
The Rams ( 3- 2) went scoreless for seven innings, including the last five of the first game, and were held to one hit by Tyler Hamilton ( two innings) and Hunter McDade in the nightcap before Tanner Rice singled to drive in Lightsey with two outs in the third. Lightsey was hit by a McDade pitch and advanced on a wild pitch.
Everett ( 2- 2) scored a run in each of the first three innings off Blake Spilker and Reece Nickles, the latter relieving to start the third, and continued a gamelong trend on Cody Icenhower’s twoout RBI single in the fourth for a 4- 1 lead.
Colton Lane relieved McDade to start the fourth and walked Nickles. Colten O’Keefe and Andrew Spakes followed with singles, Nickles scoring on the latter.
“We finally started putting some runners on base,” Lakeside coach Leighton Hardin said.
Spakes scored on Johnathan Barmore’s groundout to second, Erick Aguirre singled and Barmore came home with the tying run when Lane fielded Spilker’s bunt and threw wildly to third. Lightsey followed with an opposite- field single to left scoring Aguirre, Cockrell adding a sacrifice fly to center for a 6- 4 lead.
Cockrell is a junior legion player moved up with the AA team missing injured starter Jon Youngblood and the Rams’ five dual- certified players with the younger team at the Gwatney Chevrolet Classic in Jacksonville.
“That was a tough spot for him because we asked him to squeeze and they throw a ball, then we asked him to bunt and he didn’t get in down,” Hardin said. “Then he had to swing the bat.
“Colby wasn’t with the varsity this year. That’s one reason we brought him up, to get him some experience. He’s worked hard. He kind of earned
his way up there.”
Nickles got the win, going 2 2- 3 innings. Rice got the last out for a save.
“Blake and Reece, they might not have thrown five innings in high school,” Hardin said. “They did a good job for us allowing one run an inning and keeping us in the game and giving us a chance to win.”
Nickles allowed an unearned run in the fifth he misplayed Andy Swaim’s bunt. After McDade singled, Nickles walked Jeff Storment and Chris Musteen with two outs to force in a run.
Musteen came off the bench after Nickles went 2- 0 on Estevan Padilla and Hardin visited the mound.
“They pulled one on him,” Hardin said. “When he went to two balls I went to talk to him and they called time to get somebody else ready. It was a five- minute break and he threw ball three.”
Everett coach Brandon Wade said, “We wanted to make it a righty- lefty matchup.”
Rice retired pinch- hitter Brandon Wilcox on a grounder to first, Spakes going to his right and tossing to Rice at the bag.
“Tanner did his job and got a ground ball to first,” Hardin said. “He’s one of our guys on the mound that’s supposed to carry us. I told him I was going to get him in today at some point. I was just waiting for the right time, and it worked out.”
The bottom of the fifth began, but time expired after Aguirre and Spilker walked with two outs.
Everett outhit the Rams 8- 6, McDade going 3- for- 4 and Gunner Smith 2- for- 3.
In the opener, Aguirre threw out Lane trying to steal for Everett’s second out of the sixth before Wilcox reached on an error. Icenhower and Hamilton followed with singles off Spakes, the latter scoring Wilcox.
The Rams wasted to chances to score against Smith, Everett’s third pitcher of the game, in their last two at- bats.
In the sixth, Nickles walked leading off but was doubled off first when Barmore popped up a bunt. O’Keefe led off the seventh with his third hit in as many at- bats, took second on Aguirre’s bunt, then broke late and held at third on Spakes’ single to left- center. Smith ended the treat by getting Spilker on a pop fly and Lightsey on a ground ball.
“You’re not going to win when you get five or six hits and don’t run the bases well,” Hardin said.
Lakeside took a 1- 0 lead in the second off Everett starter Andy Swaim, Aguirre scoring on Spilker’s fielder’s- choice grounder. Aguirre reached on a fielder’s choice after Rice singled, taking third on Spakes’ double.
Chris Musteen’s RBI single off O’Keefe, the Rams’ starter, in the third tied the score. Hunter McDade scored after a lead- off triple.
O’Keefe and Spakes both went three innings, the starter allowing three hits and Spakes five. Spakes went 2- for- 3 at the plate
Smith went two innings for the win. McDade allowed four hits in four innings.
Rice’s single was his sixth straight over three games. He grounded out in his next three at- bats.
The Rams play five games Tuesday through Thursday at the Mississippi State Team Camp tournament in Starkville, Miss.