400 & COUNTING! | Kilgore’s Lafitte gets 400th win, as ‘Dogs beat Gilmer, 9-1
GILMER – Kilgore’s Jordan Pierce had three hits and scored three runs and Brodey Benson pitched 5 2/3 solid innings as the Bulldogs defeated Gilmer 9-1 on a cold Tuesday evening at Buckeye Field here at the Matt Camp Baseball Complex.
The win was Kilgore’s sixth (6-2) in District 17-4A play and 14th (14-6-1) for the season, but, even more notable than that, it was coach Eugene Lafitte’s 400th as a high school baseball coach. He was recognized on the field by his players and Kilgore fans that made the trip to Upshur County with a presentation of a banner and a picture of historic Driller Park by the baseball booster club.
Benson evened his record on the mound at 2-2, allowing only two hits through the first five innings. Tanner Beets entered in relief to get the final out of the sixth and retire the Buckeyes in the seventh, getting Kilgore’s second double play of the contest (1-to-5-to-3) and ending the game with a strikeout.
The Buckeyes scratched for a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, though, making the most of one-out singles by Dillon Griffin, Brayden Pate, Harrison Lofton and Lathan Kemp off the Kilgore sophomore.
The Driller Boys touched Gilmer starter Klein Lindsey for a run in the first and added four in the second. Todd House opened the first with a single into left field and scored on Tate Truman’s sacrifice fly, the first of two RBI for the Bulldogs’ third baseman.
Pierce led off the second with a double and scored on Joseph Hendrickson’s single. Kolton Hale, who went 1-for-4 and drove in a run in the seventh, reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Gilmer error, along with Cade Henry, who singled and scored on the same fielding error.
House, batting for the second time reached on the error, stole second base and scored on Truman’s run-scoring single down the third base line into left field.
With a five-run lead, Kilgore didn’t score again until it added two in the fifth, getting a one-out double by Colt Bullard and a single by Pierce. Both runners would score on separate Buckeye errors to extend the Diamond Dogs lead to 7-0.
Gilmer’s run came in the bottom of the sixth as Griffin scored on Lofton’s single.
Kilgore would add two more runs in the top of the seventh inning off Gilmer reliever Aiden Davis. Pierce, the number five hitter in the Dogs’ batting order, walked and eventually scored the eighth run of the contest by stealing home.
Hale plated Jackson Tucker-Phillips with the final run of the game, lashing a single to left-centerfield. Tucker-Phillips, the designated-hitter, had walked and stolen second base on a double steal in which Pierce scored.
Eight different Bulldogs accounted for 10 hits.
Gilmer’s Justin Jones led the Buckeyes’ eight-hit attack, going two-for-three. Aron Bell doubled in the fourth inning and D.J. Moreno added the other hit with a single in the seventh.
Gilmer is 0-8 against the district and 2-16-0 for the season and has lost 13 games in a row.
The two clubs will play again on Friday at 7 p.m. at Driller Park in Kilgore.
In other district action on Tuesday, Carthage edged Spring Hill 2-0, and Center beat Henderson 2-1.