Carden, Cobras outlast Bauxite
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE — Senior pitcher Montana Carden put on an impressive show as he went seven full innings to lead Fountain Lake to a 6-5 victory over Bauxite Friday afternoon.
Carden gave up two earned runs off three hits, while striking out five batters.
“He’s a competitor,” said Fountain Lake head coach Josh Wesson. “He’s been my ace since he’s been here. He works his tail off, and he thrives for what you saw today — tied game.
“That’s what he thrives for. There’s no doubt that kid is going to go play at the next level, and somebody’s going to get a good one.”
Classmate Stephen Turner also had an impressive performance, going 3-for-4 at the plate with three singles and one scored run.
“He’s one of my two seniors,” Wesson said. “He’s been with me his whole high school career, and he is a leader. He’s the kind of senior, him and Montana both, that you build your program around. They do things the right way, and he’s having a heck of a year, and I’m extremely proud of him.”
The Cobras (7-2-1, 1-1 3A/4A-8) got on the board first, junior Kody Moody hitting a single before stealing second. Preston White singled Moody to third before Carden hit into a 6-4 play to give Fountain Lake a 1-0 lead after one inning.
Fountain Lake stretched its lead over Bauxite (6-4, 4-2) to 3-0 after runs by Turner and junior Kyle Fortner. Turner hit a single, followed by sophomore Daeton Bassett’s single, and Fortner reached on a fielder’s choice that ousted Bassett. With two outs, freshman Jack Wurz reached on an error that allowed Turner to score before a first baseman’s error made it 3-0.
The Miners came out big in the top of the third, tying the game at 3-3.
“It wouldn’t be Fountain Lake baseball if we didn’t make it interesting,” Wesson said. “I’m 29, but some days I feel like an old man because of the stress they put on me. It was just one of those innings, but what I’m proud of is that we can give up innings like that but we respond. That just says some-
thing about the character of these kids.
“They have a great time together. They’re a blast to be around. It’s a privilege for me to coach them. They didn’t tighten up because they’re loose all the time because they’re having fun. That’s one of the reasons that we can respond like that.
Fountain Lake faced some adversity in the bottom of the fifth as Wesson was ejected after arguing with the plate umpire, but the incident did not phase the Cobras.
Bauxite scored two more in the top of the sixth to go up 5-3 on a pair of errors, but the Cobras were able to knot the score again in the bottom of the inning.
Fortner reached on an error, advancing to third on a grounder by junior Conner Webb. A big single by Wurz sent Fortner home from second before Wurz took second on a balk. Sophomore Preston White reached on an error that allowed Wurz to score to make it 5-5.
Carden needed just 12 pitches to make it out of the seventh, striking out the first and third with the second batter of the inning hitting into a 6-3.
Freshman Bryce Stauder hit a double into left-center field to lead off the Cobras before Turner bunted him to third. Bassett was intentionally walked to load the bases for a force-out situation, but Fortner reached on an error to send Stauder home for the walk-off run.
“I’m just proud of the guys,” Wesson said. “Bauxite is a program; they have been for years. Coach (Michael) Mattox does a great job. We had some things not go our way today.
“Our deal is, across all of our sports programs, control the controllables. They controlled everything they could on their end. We came out with the win. Montana threw great. We hit the ball behind him. We made some plays whenever we needed to, and it was a good win.”
The Cobras will take off for spring break before playing host to Haskell Harmony Grove (4-7) on March 26.