CARTHAGE SLIPS BY KHS IN 8TH | Rematch Friday at Driller

CARTHAGE – Maddox Martinez slid head-first into home on a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Carthage a 6-5 victory over Kilgore on Tuesday night at brand new Bulldog Park, which opened earlier this season.

The win was Carthage’s second in as many games against the Bulldogs in District 17-4A play and all but sealed the Dawgs’ positioning in second place behind Spring Hill, leaving Kilgore in third with just three district games to play — the first of those being Friday at Driller Park in Kilgore, and then two next week against Spring Hill, one at home on Tuesday and the second in Longview on Friday.

This was a back-and-forth contest with plenty of drama and clutch plays offensively and defensively by both ballclubs.

With the win, coach Jason Causey’s Dawgs improve to 10-2 in district play and move to 16-8-2 overall, while Kilgore drops to 8-4 against the district and 16-8-1 for the season.

Neither Brody Benson for Kilgore or his opposite Carthage starting pitcher Dillon Davenport figured in the decision on the pitching mound.

Benson went 4-1/3 innings before Tate Truman came in, limiting the Dawgs to two singles, a strikeout and three walks in 3-1/3 innings. One of the walks, though, was to Martinez to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning.

Benson threw 83 pitches. He allowed five runs on four hits, striking out two, but walking five.

For Carthage, Davenport pitched five-plus innings, allowing four runs on four hits. He struck out seven and walked four. Patrick Malone entered and pitched to three batters, giving up one run on two hits before Causey opted to bring in Cade Ross, a sophomore, with the game tied.

Ross proved the winning pitcher, getting the final nine outs, three of those to end Kilgore’s four-run rally in the sixth. Kilgore threatened for more in the top of the seventh, with Bullard and Cason Edney both reaching on singles with only one out. Joseph Hendrickson flied out to center fielder Kaden Ritter, and then Ritter’s throw to shortstop Ty Chambers retired the Kilgore first baseman before he could get back to second base.  

Kilgore, which was shutout in its first meeting against Carthage on March 19 in Kilgore, scored first in the first inning. House, the leadoff hitter, reached on an infield error, and then scored on a Truman double into the right field corner off Davenport, who had a stretch earlier this season in which he pitched a perfect game, a no-hitter, and a shutout in that order.

The Dawgs, though, answered with three runs in their first at-bat. Like House, in the top of the first, Sam Watson reached on an error. Benson then walked Brooks Soape and Davenport to load the bases. Cade Moore grounded to Truman, the Kilgore third baseman, who threw Watson out at home. Ty Chambers then reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring courtesy-runner Blayton LaGrone with the tying run as Kilgore retired Moore at second base.

Cale Preston reached on a bunt single, with courtesy-runner Ryan Ezernack scoring and then Chambers scoring on Kilgore’s second error of the inning to give the Dawgs a 3-1 lead.

Carthage added one in the third as Soape coaxed his second walk of the game off Benson, then moved to second on a single by Davenport and scored on Moore’s single, extending the Dawgs’ lead to three, 4-1.

Benson retired Carthage 1-2-3 in the second and fourth innings and had 78 pitches through the first four innings.

Davenport retired the Bulldogs in order in the second and fifth innings, getting a couple of outstanding catches in right field from Preson, his right fielder. On a one-out fly ball off the bat of House, Preston dove for the catch and with Beets batting next had to go to his left for a running, diving catch to retire the Kilgore second baseman.

The Dawgs pushed across an insurance run and led 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. They did it getting a run-scoring Preston flare single into right field to score Ezernack, who was again running for Davenport, who had singled.

Kilgore answered, though, batting around and scoring four on four hits, three of which were bunts by Joseph Hendrickson, who reached on an error, a squeeze bunt by Kolton Hale to score Cason Edney.

The third bunt was a sacrifice by Jackson Tucker-Phillips advancing Hendrickson to third.

Edney, the Kilgore designated-hitter, reached on a single into short right field that scored Bullard with the Driller Boys third run of the game. Edney’s run, coming in on Kolton Hale’s squeeze bunt, knotted the score at 5-all. Jordan Pierce, who walked, crossed on a Carthage error that enabled Hendrickson to reach.

Truman, who was 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI, started the comeback rally with a leadoff single. Colt Bullard (2-for-4) doubled Truman all the way around from first base with a shot down the third baseline into left field.

Joining Truman and Bullard with two hits for the Bulldogs was Edney. Carthage, which finished with six hits, was led by Davenport and Preston with two hits apiece. Moore and Preston each had two RBI for the Dawgs.

Martinez, who scored the game-winning run, reached base on a walk. He was sacrificed to second by Ritter, and moved to third on a Bullard putout of Watson at first base.

Hale and Pierce each made crucial catches in the outfield for Kilgore.

Carthage stranded nine baserunners, while Kilgore left seven.  

In other district action on Tuesday night, Spring Hill beat Henderson 5-2 and Gilmer defeated Center 10-9.

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