Bulldogs baseball starts 3-6 after tough schedule

The Bulldogs (3-6) went 2-1 on the weekend in the Weimer Tournament and won the consolation bracket

The were taken down, 8-2 by East Bernard This was a tough one personally for Head Coach Torrey Ognoski because it is where he went to high school "I wanted to win pretty badly East Bernard really hit the ball well and played solid in the field and then I thought this was the most "shaky" game for us; possibly because it was the first one " said Ognoski

David Crees pitched five innings and took the loss He was responsible for six of the runs, with three being earned Stratton Carroll pitched the sixth and gave up two runs

Both Howe runs came in the fifth inning Brennan Ross led off with an infield single and scored on a hit by Griffin Underwood Underwood scored the second run on a fielders choice groundball by Triston Matthews

Howe then beat Tidehaven, 11-0 for their first win of the season Underwood got the start and went all five innings He did not allow a run; throwing only 58 pitches and striking out four

"The defense was much better behind him than in the first game and we managed to back him up with a few runs as well " said Ognoski

Ross doubled home Crees and Peyton Reagan in the second inning to give Howe a 2-0 lead

The 'Dogs broke the game open with four runs in the fourth inning Reagan walked and Nick Wilson singled to lead off the inning A Ross sacrifice bunt was thrown into right field scoring Reagan Zach Blevins followed with a single to score Wilson Underwood then doubled into the left center field gap to score Blevins and Ross

Underwood would double again in the fifth to score two more runs and Matt Griffin delivered a tworun single to make it 11-0 and invoke the 10 run rule

The 'Dogs then won their second game of the year over Bloomington, 11-3 Tanner Hartsfield got the start and gave up one earned run over three innings Freshman Mason Riggs threw the last three frames and gave up two runs - both unearned

"Offensively we took advantage of Bloomington mistakes and jumped out to a 7-1 lead early" said Ognoski "Wilson, Jaycob Miller, and Ross all delivered RBI hits We responded to Bloomington closing the gap to 7-3 by putting up four runs in the top of the sixth to make it 11-3 Underwood and Triston Matthews would both be hit by a pitch and come around to score Overall, it was a great experience to get to travel and play in one of the premier high school baseball facilities in the state I know our kids had a good time and I think this experience can help us grow as a team and continue to improve

The 'Dogs went 1-5 from Thursday through Saturday against stiff competition

Howe started with a 9-4 loss to Grapevine Faith Christian and 115 to Flower Mound Marcus on the first day Thursday was sloppy and Ognoskie said they didn't play very good baseball However, they got progressively better as the weekend went on Reagan took the loss against Faith and Stratton Carroll took the loss against Marcus

On Friday, Howe lost to Dallas Adamson, 6-5 and Sanger, 17-9

Howe played a district opponent Saturday versus Pilot Point and won,11-1 behind a complete game from Tanner Hartsfield, who returned from regional powerlifting Brennan Ross scored three runs from the lead off spot and stole two bases

"We got multi-hit games from Underwood, Reagan, and Griffin " said Ognoskie " Carroll added an RBI single as did Tyler Grisham Hartsfield brought home two with a double in the fourth to help his own cause This was probably the most complete game we played of the season so far"

Howe finished the tourney versus Marcus again the last game and lost 11-8 Wilson started on the mound and had a lead going into the fifth before they rallied to take the lead for good

"Despite the losses I feel a ton better heading into district tomorrow against Pilot Point at noon " said Ognoskie "We started to swing the bats much better and play much cleaner in the field We got better each day and that's what the tournaments are there for Especially ones against good competition "