(February 26, 2022) Millington, Tennessee – Coming off the loss last night, the Bucks looked to rebound today with a doubleheader in the Babe Howard JUCO Classic. The Bucks faced Southwest Tennessee and Rend Lake in the double header.
GAME ONE – Southwest Tennessee
The game could be summarized as a pitcher's dual between the Bucks and Soluqis. Delta State commit Drake Fontenot (Bossier City, LA) got the start for the Bucks. He would give up his only run in the bottom of the second inning, as he went 5 innings. Drake gave up 5 hits and struck out 5 and walked 2 in the no decision.
The Bucks were held hitless in the contest until the top of the sixth inning, trailing 1-0. Chase Webb (El Dorado, AR) broke up the no hitter with a solo home run over the left fence. The Bucks weren't done in the inning. With 2 outs, Mason Reynolds (Fort Worth, TX) doubled down the left field line to bring Luke Rice (Scott, AR) to the plate. Luke would push across a run and reach on an error to give the Bucks the 2-1 lead.
Daegan Covington (Taylor, AR) came in to pitch in the bottom of the sixth with the lead and made short work of the Soluqis to bring the Bucks back to the plate. Jackson Baker (Sherwood, AR) extended the lead with a solo homer over the left field fence in the top of the seventh.
With the 3-1 lead, Covington walked the lead-off hitter and the third hitter of the inning. Both would score to tie the game at 3-3 after seven innings to send it to extras.
Both teams went scoreless in the eighth inning. Keelan Hodge (Junction City, AR) came on in relief in the top of the eighth, inheriting a baserunner. He would get out the inning unscathed with a couple ground balls.
In the top of the nineth, Cole Clark (Clarksville, AR) led off with a single up the middle before a Isaac Price (Siloam Springs, AR) sac bunt pushed him to second. After a single to the right side put runners on the corners, Casey Shipley (Prairie Grove, AR) came through with a RBI single to give the Bucks a 4-3 lead.
Keelan Hodge (1-0) came out and held the Saluqis at bay to end the game, 4-3 in nine innings, and picked up his first win of the season. He would throw 2 scoreless innings in relief.
GAME TWO – Rend Lake
Looking to keep the momentum going, the Bucks switched fields to face the Warriors. Grant Shankle (Van Buren, AR) would get the start on the bump. After giving up a 2-run homer in the top of the first, he would settle in and pitch 5 innings, giving up 2 runs. Shankle would strike out 5 and walk 2 in the outing.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the second, the Bucks got the offense going. Luke Rice led off with a single and moved over on a groundout. After a walk and 2 outs, Brayden Sites came through with RBI single. Another walk turned the lineup over. Dan Taylor (Rogers, AR) hit 2 RBI single down the right field line to give the Bucks a 3-2 lead after three.
The Bucks added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Sites hit a 2 out ground rule double before Trace Watkins (Sheridan, AR) reached on an error. Next at-bat, Brayden Sites scored on a throwing error. In the next inning, Mason Reynolds reached on a single before advancing to second and third on passed balls. Luke Rice then hit a towering fly ball to centerfield to score Reynolds to give the Bucks a 5-2 lead.
With Shankle's day being done, Carson Crawford (Humnoke, AR) came on to pitch in the top of the sixth inning. He would give up a run in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to 5-3. The Bucks went scoreless in the bottom half.
Cade Shrum (Greenwood, AR) came on in the save situation in the top of the seventh. He would do just that with a strikeout, ground out, and a ground out to end the game.
Grant Shankle (2-0) picked up his second win of the season.
The Bucks are back in action next weekend at McMillan Park with a 3-game series with Mineral Area College. First pitch is set for Friday, March 4th, at 12 pm.
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