Decatur baseball opens 2023 season with losses
DECATUR — The Decatur Bulldog baseball team opened its 2023 season with a pair of scrimmages against the Yellowjacket of Westville, Okla., on March 6 at Edmiston Ball Park in Decatur. The Bulldogs continued the week with a game against the Mountainburg Dragons on March 7, again at Edmiston Ball Park in Decatur. The Bulldogs ended the first full week of the season with a road trip to Scranton for a doubleheader with the Rockets Friday night.
In the first contest against the Yellowjackets, inexperience played a key role in the young Bulldogs’ performance under head baseball coach J.C. Dorsey. The Monday night scrimmage was a little different from a regular contest. Both teams agreed to a three-out/three-run rule. This enabled the Bulldogs several chances to bat. But the Westville Yellowjackets were better prepared for the contest and defeated the Decatur Bulldogs in every inning.
The Bulldogs next squared off against Mountainburg in Decatur on March 7 in the first full baseball contest of the season. The Dragons prevailed throughout the five-inning contest, outscoring by 25 runs to take the win and shutting out the Bulldogs for Decatur’s second loss of the new season.
The Bulldogs boarded bus 19 Friday morning for a two-hour trip to Scranton for its first conference doubleheader against the Rockets. In the first contest of the doubleheader, the Bulldogs were unable to execute their offensive plan and were unable to get any runs. The Rockets, on the other hand, had no problems connecting with the ball, bringing home 16 runs to claim victory in the first game. The contest ended in the third inning when the 10-run mercy rule came into play.
The second game of the doubleheader ended in much the same way, with Scranton taking a 15-run lead to end the contest in the third inning with a 15-0 victory over the Decatur Bulldogs and ending week one with a trio of losses.