By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
MOODY – The Blue Devils baseball team came into Saturday’s double-header licking their wounds from two straight losses, looking to rebound as they hosted the Cougars from Clay Chalkville. And rebound they did. In the two games combined, the Cougars managed just 6 runs, which doesn’t sound all that bad. However, when you take into account that Moody put 35 runs on the scoreboard, it looks a lot worse.
Moody Blue Devils baseball
(Photo by Ron Burkett)
In game one, the Cougars jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Blue Devils would dominate from there, scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the first. The second inning would be where Moody would do their most damage as they put 14 runs on the board in that inning alone. Clay just never got anything going and Moody scored 1 run in the third and fourth innings, ending game one with a 20-1 win over the Cougars.
Landon Cherry got the win in game 1, pitching 3 innings and allowing just one run and one hit while striking out 5 batters. Thomas Taylor relieved Cherry, throwing two innings and allowing no runs for the Cougars.
After the blowout loss, the Clay Chalkville Cougars looked to have a better outing in the second game of the double-header but never got anything going. Clay hung tough, allowing just 1 run in the first inning, but the bats would stay cold for the Cougars as they did not score for the first four innings. Moody, however, had fire flowing from their bats as they scored 4 in the second and 2 in the third before going scoreless in the fourth. The fifth inning would be the most successful for each team as Clay put 5 runs on the board and Moody added 8 to their run total, leading to a 15-5 Blue Devil win.
Pitching 2 innings and allowing no hits nor runs, Bourne Grant picked up the win for Moody while Travis Shi came in to relieve him after 2 innings.
Moody Coach Eamonn Kelly said of his team’s performance, “We had a good day at the plate. We were also able to get some guys some innings on the mound to help continue building depth. Overall, we swung it well and we were able to capitalize on that.”
Moody moves to 5-2 on the season while Clay Chalkville falls to 1-10. The Blue Devils look to keep the momentum going on Tuesday as they head to Springville on Monday. The Cougars look to get some traction on the 2023 season as they welcome McAdory to Clay.
