Sweet Water scuffles in Gulf Coast Classic
It was no day at the beach for Sweet Water this week as the Bulldogs dropped three of the four games they played in the Gulf Coast Classic.
Brooks 4, Sweet Water 1
Sweet Water opened its week Monday by allowing four unanswered runs to fall to Brooks 4-1. Jonah Smith led off the game with a triple. Courtesy runner Trent Sams later scored on a Braiden Broussard sacrifice fly to put the Bulldogs up 1-0. The lead lasted until an error-aided bottom of the third inning saw Brooks hang three runs on the board to take a 3-1 advantage. Brooks added one more in the fourth to cap the scoring.
Smith struck out four batters over six innings while scattering eight hits and allowing one earned run in the loss. The Bulldogs managed only three hits in the contest.
Jasper 13, Sweet Water 10
Monday got no better for the Bulldogs as they dropped a back-and-forth contest 13-10 to Jasper.
The Bulldogs fell behind 3-0 in the top of the first inning before a pair of two-out walks opened the door. Michael Allen Cole singled to right to plate Broussard and John Thomas Etheridge to narrow the gap to 3-2.
Down 5-2 in the top of the second, the Bulldogs capitalized on back-to-back errors. Shamar Lewis scored on the second error. Etheridge then singled home Sasha Smith to cut it to 5-4. Jasper got another run in the third before Lewis singled in Trent Sams in the home half of the inning. Sasha Smith then tied it with a single that helped Lewis find his way home.
Jasper hung four runs in the fourth inning for the 10-6 lead. Cole scored in the bottom half to make it 10-7.
Jasper continued pouring it on in the fifth with two runs to push it to 12-7. Broussard tripled in Smith in the bottom half of the frame. Two batters later, Cole singled in Broussard to make it 12-9.
Jasper scored its final run in the top of the sixth inning for a 13-9 advantage. Sweet Water set the final margin in the bottom of the seventh when Sasha Smith scored on a wild pitch.
Sweet Water 9, Hamilton 8
The Bulldogs got their lone victory of the week Tuesday afternoon in a 9-8 nine-inning affair against Hamilton. Sweet Water was down 2-0 in the top of the third when the bats got to work. Five straight batters hit safely to put SWHS on top 3-2. Lewis and Sasha Smith singled before Jonah Smith plated both with a single of his own. Broussard doubled ahead of a John Thomas Etheridge single and scored on a Cole sacrifice fly.
With the game tied at three, Sams reached on an error to open the fourth. Lewis drove him in two batters later for the 4-3 Bulldog lead. Hamilton battled back to take a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fourth but errors prevented the lead from sticking in the top of the fifth. Jonah Smith reached on an error and scored on a Broussard double to tie the game. Broussard then scored on an error for the 6-5 Sweet Water lead. Another error allowed Etheridge to score before Sams singled in Chance Broussard for the 8-5 advantage.
Hamilton rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. Jonah Smith deposited a 1-0 pitch over the center field fence to lead off the ninth and put Sweet Water up 9-8. Chance Broussard then retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win. He went three and two-thirds innings while allowing only two hits, two walks and no runs for the win.
Dale County 7, Sweet Water 3
The Bulldogs proved unable to overcome a disastrous first inning Wednesday afternoon as they went on to lose to Dale County 7-3. DCHS hung five runs in the top of the first and the Bulldogs never recovered.
Braiden Broussard singled in Jonah Smith in the bottom of the first. Smith later singled in Walker Thompson in the fifth. Thompson drove in Xavier Lucy with a grounder in the sixth to round out the scoring.
Sweet Water (13-8) is set to host Jackson Thursday.