Cordova JV Baseball Game Summaries

District Tournament Recap
Cordova hangs on to beat Houston and advance in the district tournament (7/14)
Harris pitches two hitter in victory over Briarcrest (7/13)
ECS beats Cordova in district opener (7/12)
Wolfpack JV beats White Station in last at bat (7/9)
Cordova bats heat up in win over Christian Brothers 13-10 (7/8)
JV finishes the 4th of July, Backyard Burger Bash with a 3-4 record
NY routs Cordova JV (7/2)
Cordova Wolves JV devour the Memphis Tigers 13-4 (7/1)
Upper Deck outscores Wolfpack in tournament action (6/30)
Cordova rallies to beat ECS 9-7 (6/29)
Louisville best Cordova in tournament opener (6/29)
Wolves frustrated in Saturday double-header (6/23)
Cordova JV pluck ECS Eagles in 11-1 rout (6/16)
Cordova defeat Germantown 7-2 (6/14)
Wolves JV best Chargers 9-2 (6/12)
Wolves JV fall to Mustangs 6-10 (6/11)
Jerry's Summer Bash
Cordova beats St. Benedict 10-0 (6/05)

District Tournament Recap.

The Cordova Wolfpack JV finished 4^th ,within the field of 10 teams, in the district tournament. An opening loss to ECS put Cordova in the losers bracket, where they had to fight their way back into contention. Their tournament record was 3-2, defeating Houston, Briarcrest and ECS; while losing to ECS in the opener and CBHS in the elimination game.

As a team Cordova put up some impressive offensive numbers. They amassed a team batting average of .356 for the tournament, in addition to a team slugging average of .485 with 11 extra base hits (including a home-run by Justin Harris). The Wolfpack had 8 players with BA over .300 in the 5 game series. From the mound, the team’s pitchers averaged over 8 K’s per game.

Individually, Terrance Maclin took all offensive honors. He was 7 of 15 from the plate for a .467 batting average, and had 3 extra base hits, for a slugging average of .733. Adam Bowling and Ephraim McCleary also entered the 400+ club for the tournament, batting .462, as they joined Anthony Pinkston in the club who hit .438. Justin Harris also had 3 extra base hits to register a slugging average of .688.

Bowling’s 6 RBI’s led the Wolfpack, and Maclin, Pinkston , and Travis Calvi tied for most hits in the tournament with 7 each. Pinkston grabbed honors for most runs scored with 5, and McCleary’s OBP of .588, was the highest on the team.

From the mound, both Justin Harris and Anthony Albonetti threw 2 hitters in their wins. Harris and Travis Mathews each had 10 K’s in there outings. The third winning pitcher was Adam Bowling, achieving his 5^th victory of the summer season.
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Cordova hangs on to beat Houston and advance in the district tournament.

You couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to play baseball than Saturday afternoon, when the Cordova Wolves took on the Houston Mustangs, at Bolton High School. The weather might have been mild, but the Cordova bats were hot as the Wolfpack jumped out to an early 6-0 lead over the Mustangs. Cordova would be thankful for the early run production, as they hung on to defeat Houston by a score of 6-5.

Though trailing 6-1 going into their final at bat, Houston did not throw in the towel, they decided instead to put a scare into Cordova. Houston capitalized on 2 hits and 3 Cordova fielding errors to come within one run of taking the game to extra innings. Needless to say, the coaching staff was not pleased with the team’s play in the final minutes of the game, but was grateful to have the victory and advance in the district tournament.

Pitching by Adam Bowling was solid. He was able to get ahead early in the count, and keeping the Houston batters off stride with his pitch selection. Bowling is the first Cordova pitcher to reach 5 victories this summer season.

Cordova’s only serious scoring opportunity, after their initial runs, came to an abrupt end in the 5^th inning. Ephraim McCleary had started the inning with a hit down the 1^st base line. Patrick Mason had reached due to HBP. With 1 out, Jay Hollenbeck rapped a 2-2 pitch off of the ground in front of home plate, in the direction of first base, where the first baseman caught the ball off one hop. The base runners thought the ball was a line-drive catch, and attempted to retreat to their previous bases. All were confused as to what to do. Time seamed to stand still for the Wolfpack base runners, as the Houston first baseman stepped on his bag, for the force out of Hollenbeck, then threw to the short-stop, who tagged out McCleary, for a double play right out of the "Twilight Zone".

Terrance Maclin, the recently discovered hitting sensation, and diamond in the rough, came through again with his bat, recording 3 hits that included a double and triple. Brandon Badgett would also triple in the game, as he was 2 of 4 with 3 RBI’s. McCleary also had 2 hits in the contest, batting 2 for 3.

Harris pitches two hitter in victory over Briarcrest.

Justin Harris had a no-hitter going into the 6^th inning Friday, July 13^th, against the Briarcrest Saints. The game’s lead-off batter had reached base on an infield error, and later in the inning had scored on a throwing error, for Briarcrest’ only run to that point in the game. After 5 innings the score stood at 1-1.

The Saints got things started in the 6^th with a base hit that barely got past the driving Cordova short-stop, Patrick Mason, to end Harris’ no-hitter. The next Briarcrest batter reached base on a walk. This was followed up by a 2 RBI double, to make the score 1-3.

The first out of the inning came when Travis Calvi made a good catch in shallow center field, robbing the Saint batter of a hit, and forcing the base runner to scurry back to 2^nd base. Harris struck-out the following batter, one of 10 K’s in the game, and the final out of the inning came off of a fly ball, caught by center-fielder Anthony Pinkston.

It had been a pitching duel up to this point in the game. Cordova had scattered 4 hits over the first 4 innings, but had been unable to string hits together for any type of rally. The bottom half of the 6^th started out as usual with an easy ground out to the first-baseman. Ephraim McCleary walked on 4 straight pitches to give Cordova a base runner, and then Terrance Maclin ripped a pitch down the 3^rd base line for a hit. Calvi smashed an RBI single to centerfield to score McCleary, and was followed by Adam Bowling’s RBI single to score Maclin. Jay Hollenbeck was up next. He laid down a picture perfect sacrifice bunt to score Calvi for the go-ahead run. Cordova took the lead 4-3.

Harris closed out the 7^th and final at bat for Briarcrest in 3 up – 3 down fashion, sealing the victory for Cordova. In this 7 inning game Harris had allowed just 2 hits, while striking out 10 Saint batters in the 4-3 win.

The only serious scoring threat prior to the 6^th inning had come in the 5^th. Briarcrest had runners on 1^st and 3^rd with one out, when a Saints batter laid a bunt down toward 3^rd. McCleary rushed in, scooped the bunt and fired it to Badgett, who applied the tag to the streaking Saints runner attempting to score, thwarting Briarcrest’s attempt to take a lead.

Calvi produced 3 of Cordova’s 7 total hits in the contest, going a perfect 3-3 with 2 runs and an RBI.

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ECS beats Cordova in district opener.

The double elimination district tournament started disappointedly for the Cordova Wolves Thursday evening. It was one of those outings where it was really hard to put a finger on what went wrong. Cordova had beat ECS in their 5 previous meetings this year (3 spring, 2 summer), and felt confident entering the game that they would do so again. That was not to be the case, as they fell to the ECS Eagles 2-7 in the district opener.

Cordova averaged merely 4 plate appearances per inning, sending only 28 men to the batter’s box over the 7 inning game. They could muster only 5 hits, and a grand total of 9 base runners in the contest. Anthony Pinkston was the lone bright spot in line-up, going 2 for 3 with a triple.

Wolfpack right-hander, Travis Mathews, achieved an impressive 10 strike-outs in 5 innings, keeping the team in the game up until the 5^th inning, when things went hay-wire. The inning started out poorly when Mathews walked the lead-off batter after having him at an 0-2 count. This was followed by a hit, then the next batter beat out a bunt to load the bases. Next came an RBI hit to center field, followed by an RBI infielder’s error, and a HBP with the bases loaded, which also scored a run. Mathews stopped the bleeding at 3 runs scored by registering 3 strike-outs to end the inning. Terrance Maclin came in to pitch in relief in the 6^th to close out the game, pitching 2 scoreless and hitless innings.

The Eagles played consistent baseball, making up for their sole error in the game, by getting the runner out in the same play. They batted .300 as a team, going 9 for 30 from the plate. Nothing extraordinary, just consistent. They were aided by several seeing-eye bloopers that fell into no-mans-land, just out of the infielder’s reaches, and bunt hits, to just the right place in the infield to reach base. In other words, they just got the breaks.

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Wolfpack JV beats White Station in last at bat.

The baseball team from White Station High School paid a visit to Cordova, July 9^th, with revenge on their minds, having been drummed by the Wolfpack in all three meetings during the spring season (16-0, 11-2, 13-3). The Spartans came close to upsetting the Cordova Wolves, in this there only meeting of the summer, but the Wolfpack hung on to prevail 11-10.

Trailing 1-4 in the bottom of the 2^nd inning, Mark Foster got the team within striking distance of the Spartans with a 2 RBI single, bringing the score to 3-4. White Station stretched the lead in the top of the 3rd to 3-6 behind 2 extra base hits.

Cordova took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the 3rd, as 7 Wolves reached base to score 5 runs. Brandon Badgett got the show started with a powerful hit to center-field, resulting in a triple. This was followed by Ephraim McCleary’s double to left field and Patrick Mason’s single past the Spartan third-baseman. Terrance Maclin reached base on 4 straight balls, setting the stage for the fluky play that followed. Mason was on second and Maclin was on first when Jay Hollenbeck got the signal from Coach Barnett to sacrifice bunt. Hollenbeck laid a perfect bunt down the first base line, committing the catcher, pitcher and first-baseman in an attempt to field the ball. The first-baseman, upon reaching the bunt, threw back to the bag at an awkward angle, and the baseball sailed into the outfield. Mason and Maclin both scored and Hollenbeck ended up on 2^nd base. He later scored off of an RBI single by Foster, for the Wolfpack to go ahead 8-6.

White Station was not about to give up, knocking out the Cordova starter, Jake Glover, with 3 consecutive hits to begin the inning. The coach signaled to the bull pen for right-hander Boyd Quinley. Quinley took the mound with a 1 run lead, and runners on 2^nd and 3^rd. He was able to retire the side, with a strike-out sandwiched between two infield ground balls, but the Spartan runner on 3^rd was able to score to tie the game 8-8. Cordova was fruitless during their next at-bat, bringing the game to the climactic 5^th and final inning.

The Spartan lead-off batter was standing on 3^rd base, and Cordova had already registered 1 out, when the White Station batter tapped the ball back up the middle, into the pitcher’s open glove. The pitcher, Quinley, looked back the runner at 3^rd and threw the ball to Hollenbeck on first, for the force out. Hollenbeck fired the ball back to the catcher, Badgett, who applied the tag to the Spartan runner, for what looked to be a 1-3-2 double play to end the inning. The umpire yelled "safe", and the crowd groaned in disbelief. Now White Station held a 1 run lead. They would go on to score a second run in the inning to take an 8-10 advantage going into Cordova’s last at bat.

Travis Mathews and Foster both reached base after being hit by the pitcher to lead off the inning. Travis Calvi smoke a hard grounder at the White Station short stop and reached 1^st, driving in Mathews, and becoming the go ahead run. Justin Harris stepped to the plate with no outs, and on a 2-2 count ripped a pitch to right-center to drive in Foster and Calvi, and win the game, 11-10.

Though the Wolfpack committed 4 errors in the game, fielding was solid and complimented the team’s consistent hitting. Cordova batted .400 for the game, with Foster winning offensive honors going 2 for 3 with 3 RBI’s in the victory.

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Cordova bats heat up in win over Christian Brothers 13-10

Can you say HOT! The 100+ degree temperature must have put some extra bounce into the Wolfpack’s aluminum bats Sunday, as Cordova compiled 12 hits, and overcame the midday sweltering sun to beat CBHS 13-10.

Cordova scored big in the top of the 2^nd inning. Trailing 1-3 with 2 outs, the Wolfpack had 11 consecutive batters reach base to score 9 runs off of 7 hits, as Cordova made 14 plate appearances in the inning. Patrick Mason got 2 singles, scored 2 runs, and had 2 RBI’s in the inning. Terrance Maclin, picking up where he left off in the 4^th of July tournament, padded his average by getting 2 hits in the inning and scoring a run. Ephraim McCleary hit a booming 2 RBI double and also scored. Two of the three outs in the inning were made attempting to steal base.

The Purple Wave came back in the bottom of the 3^rd, as they used 2 doubles and 2 triples to score 5 runs, making the count 10-8. Again in the 4^th, Christian Brothers added runs to the board to tie the game at 10 all.

Time was running out and Cordova knew it was their last chance to bat as Travis Calvi stepped to the plate in the top of the 5^th. With the score tied 10-10, Calvi reached base on an error by the Christian Brother short stop. Justin Harris followed by smashing a triple to right field, scoring Calvi for the go-ahead run. Brandon Badgett, was next up, and reached base for the third time in the game by being hit by a pitch. Harris scored on a wild pitch that went to the back stop. Blaine Moore walked to set up Mason for his third hit of the game, and another RBI, giving Cordova a 13-10 lead.

Travis Mathews, who had entered the game in relief of Adam Bowling in the 4^th inning, closed out CBHS, 3 up and 3 down, earning the win from the mound.

On one of those days where it was sooo hot your sneakers melt to the pavement if you don’t keep moving, CBHS would use 5 pitchers in the game, trying to find an edge. Their fresh arms did little to silence Cordova’s bats, as 7 of the Wolves hit safely in the victory. Harris and Jay Hollenbeck were 2 of 3, and Maclin was 2 for 2, but the real batting ace on this Sunday was Mason, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs and 3 RBI’s.

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Cordova JV finishes the 4th of July, Backyard Burger Bash with a 3-4 record.

Cordova packed 7 games into 5 consecutive days, over the 4th of July weekend, at Snowden Park, and came away with a respectable 3-4 record. The tournament fielded teams representing 6 states and the Dominican Republic, but it was a home town group, the Germantown Diversified team, that won the tournament. They defeated Upper Deck, from the Chicago, Illinois area, 10-0 in the finals. Upper Deck, a team Cordova had lost to 6-8, had advanced from Pool A.

The Wolfpack defeated the Memphis Blues (ECS), the Horn Lake Eagles, and the Memphis Tigers in the tournament. They fell to the Louisville Rage, Chicago Upper Deck, Dallas Cannons, and NY Tigers in the 4th of July event. This shows that the JV is still one of the strongest area teams, losing only to travelling all-star teams while defeating the local competition.

Terrance Maclin showed a strong bat in the tournament, compiling an impressive batting average of .538 (7 of 13). Maclin, along with several of the pitching staff, had the opportunity to swing the pine for their first times this season. As a group, the pitching staff hit .250 (19 of 76), which was respectable, being their first opportunities to bat this season. The 300+ club also included Ephraim McCleary (.444, 8-18), Brandon Badgett (.389, 7-18), and Justin Harris (.316, 6-19). McCleary led all Wolves in RBI's with 6 and Badgett and Harris tied for the lead in runs scored with 8 each. As a team Cordova batted .251, with 4 extra base hits.

The Wolfpack pitching staff threw 43 innings, with Jay Hollenbeck (14), and Travis Mathews (11 2/3) each having 3 appearances on the mound. The 3 tournament wins went to Hollenbeck, Mathews and Adam Bowling.

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NY routs Cordova JV.

Have you ever watched molasses ooze from a jar on a cold winters day? If so, you would have a good insight into how the Cordova JV played baseball in the hot, humid, afternoon sun Monday, against the New York Tigers. Monday’s play was the direct opposite of Sunday afternoon’s. Hitting was off and pitching couldn’t get ahead because of lethargic fielding. Needless to say, no one was really surprised when the final score read: Cordova 2, New York 11.

New York jumped out to a 1^st inning lead of 0-6. This was accomplished primarily off of back-to-back-to-back errors by the infield. The Tigers built on to their lead throughout the game, adding runs in the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th innings, to amass a total of 11 runs off of 10 hits.

Cordova could only put 2 runs on the board for the game. This coming in the 3^rd inning with Travis Calvi being driven in off of Patrick Mason’s RBI single, and Mark Foster coming home on a fielder’s choice by Justin Harris. The only other true scoring opportunity went unfulfilled, when in the 6^th inning, Brandon Badgett, Terrance Maclin and Ephriam McCleary strung together 3 hits in a row. Badgett was thrown out attempting to steal 2^nd base, for the second out of the inning, and Maclin and McCleary were stranded on base when the next Wolfpack batter hit a pop-up to the New York 2^nd baseman. Badgett was the one bright spot in the batting line-up, going 2 for 3 from the plate.

Jay Hollenbeck, pitching in his third game in four days, recovered after a rough 1^st inning where he was literally hit by consecutive Tiger batters, once in the thigh and once in the shoulder. Couple the personal injury with the emotional distraught of 3 consecutive errors from the fielders, and his performance in the remainder of the game might possibly be labeled remarkable. He never showed his frustration. Though visibly tired, he continued to pitch inning after inning to the best of his ability.

Tomorrow concludes the tournament for the Wolfpack JV as they face the Horn Lake Eagles at 9a on Snowden #16. Good luck on your final game.

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Cordova Wolves devour the Memphis Tigers 13-4.

Hitting, fielding, pitching and base running all came together Sunday afternoon as the Cordova Wolves devoured the Memphis Tigers 13-4 in tournament play. Cordova’s bats came alive, as the Wolfpack produced 14 hits in the outing. Fielding was solid, committing only 2 errors in the game. Pitching allowed just 4 hits over 6 innings, and aggressive, heads-up base running continually kept the Wolves in scoring position.

Trailing 0-1, Cordova got things started in the top of the 2^nd with back-to-back singles from Ephraim McCleary and Terrance Maclin. Adam Bowling followed up with a 2 RBI double to center-field, and was thrown out trying to stretch the double into a triple.

Center-fielder Justin Harris and Catcher Brandon Badgett combined for a run saving effort in the bottom of the 2^nd. The Tigers had sandwiched a base runner between 2 strike-outs. With 2 outs, the next Tiger batter hit a ball to center field. Harris hurled the ball with pin-point accuracy to Badgett, who applied the tag, for the final out of the inning.

The Wolfpack added to their lead in the 3^rd with a 2 out rally. McCleary hit an RBI double, an was followed by a single from Maclin. Bowling came up to the plate an hit a grounder to the Tiger 3^rd baseman. The 3^rd baseman looked at McCleary, standing only a few feet away, and threw the ball to 1^st, for what should have been an easy out and the end of the inning. The ball sailed past the first-baseman and McCleary and Maclin scored. During the overthrow, Bowling advanced to 3^rd, where he stopped and brushed the dirt from his trousers before realizing that the Tigers had thrown the ball into left-field, trying to pick him off as he advanced to 3^rd base. Upon realizing this, Bowling came home, scoring the third run on the play.

Again in the 4^th, Cordova padded their lead. With 2 outs, McCleary hit a 2 RBI single driving in Patrick Mason and Harris. He was followed by an RBI single from Maclin. Bringing the score to 9-1. The Tigers added a total of 3 runs in the bottoms of the 4^th and 5^th, for a 9-4 score.

Four more runs were added by the Wolfpack in the 6^th, with Harris, Badgett, Maclin and Quinley all singling, and Chris Watson and Travis Calvi each adding an RBI. Cordova held the Tigers scoreless in the bottom of the 6^th, for a final count of 13-4.

Maclin (4-4) and McCleary (3-3 + BB) were perfect from the plate in the contest. Harris was 2 for 3 and reach base in all of his 4 at-bats. Bowling accounted for 5 scores in the game (though he was credited with just 3 RBI’s). All-in-all 8 Wolves achieved hits.

Travis Mathews pitched the complete game, after also closing out the morning contest on the mound. He allowed 4 hits while striking-out 3 Tiger batters.

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Upper Deck outscores Wolfpack in tournament action.

What was the final score to the game that matched the Cordova Wolves with Upper Deck from the greater Chicago area Saturday afternoon? Was it 6-10 as the scoreboard read, or 6-8? The tournament is being played using American League rules, which allow a designated hitter (DH), but not an extra hitter (EH). Upper Deck started the game batting 10 players, utilizing an EH. When the EH came to bat in the 1^st inning, Upper Deck had tallied 3 runs and the bases were loaded. The EH was hit by an errant pitch (HBP), advancing to 1^st base, and earning an RBI for forcing in a run. The subsequent batter grounded out, but earned an RBI as the runner on 3^rd scored on the play. When the 10^th batter for Upper Deck reached the plate, the Cordova coaching staff challenged the Upper Deck team for batting out of turn. At that point Upper Deck dropped the EH from the line-up and moved the remaining 3 batters up a notch on their batting roster. The challenge was granted by the umpire, registering the 3^rd out of the inning. Technically, the 2 RBI’s would have been nullified and the score reverted to 2-3 at the conclusion of the 1^st inning. Regardless, Cordova came out on the short end of the score, whether by 2 or 4 runs.

After a shaky first inning, Jay Hollenbeck settled in on the mound and pitched a solid game. This was accomplished with a mere 17 hours rest, having pitched the final 2 innings in relief the previous night.

Even though Cordova continued to score runs, Upper Deck answered with their own runs, outpacing the Wolfpack 5-4 down the stretch. Offensively, Terrance Maclin achieved hits in 2 of his 3 at bats. Mark Foster, Patrick Mason, Brandon Badgett, and Jake Sluder also earned hits in the loss. Upper Deck out hit the Wolfpack 10 to 6, as Cordova could muster only a .200 BA for the game.

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Cordova rallies to beat ECS 9-7.

The fans were worried when continued poor fielding allowed ECS to take a 4-7 lead in the top of the 5^th inning. A 5 run 5^th inning was made possible by back-to-back fielding errors that if not made would have held ECS to just 1 run in the inning. The Wolfpack committed 6 errors in the course of the contest to allow ECS to stay close in the game.

Cordova came back in the bottom of the 5^th, scoring 3 runs to tie the game at 7-7. Brandon Badgett started the comeback with a single, and was followed by Justin Harris’ booming triple that drove in Badgett. Harris scored during the subsequent at-bat when the ECS catcher committed an error. Ephraim McCleary reached on a fielder’s choice and was moved into scoring position by a hit to left field by Jake Sluder. When the ECS left fielder let the ball roll between his legs, McCleary took advantage of the error and scored the tying run.

The drama moved to the bottom of the 6^th with the game tied. Savvy Mark Foster was to be the man of the hour. He led off the inning by beating out a bunt for a base hit, then stole 2^nd base. A fake bunt by the Cordova batter pulled in the ECS 3^rd basemen. Foster took advantage of 3^rd not being covered to steal 3^rd on the pitch. The ECS shortstop trailed Foster to the bag and the catcher overthrew 3^rd in an attempt to throw Foster out. Foster capitalized on the over throw and scored the go-ahead run.

Jake Sluder surrendered the mound after pitching 5 innings. Though he pitched well enough, he was robbed of the win by poor fielding on the part of the Wolfpack. Jay Hollenbeck came in to pitch in relief and got the win by throwing 2 solid innings of hitless and scoreless baseball.

Foster went 2 of 4 from the plate, with a 2 RBI single… Harris was 2 of 4, with a double and a triple. Adam Bowling had 4 put outs from his right-field position.

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Louisville best Cordova in tournament opener.

Vacations, injuries and summer school caused the Wolfpack JV to field a patched up team Friday, June 29^th, against the Louisville Rage, in the 4^th of July Backyard Burger Bash Tournament opener. Louisville fielded a team with their smallest players over six feet tall, but this did not intimidate the Cordova Wolves as they gave the Rage all they could handle through the first 5 innings.

The Louisville pitcher came out throwing bullets and achieved 5 of the Rage’s first 6 outs by K’s. Cordova answered with sharp pitching and fielding to close out the 2^nd inning 0-0. Cordova’s Mark Foster drew first blood in the game. He bunted for a base hit, and later tagged home plate, beating the catcher’s tag-out by inches. This gave the Wolfpack a momentary 1-0 lead.

Travis Mathews, pitching for Cordova, gave up a 3 RBI home-run, with 2 outs in the 3^rd inning, to give Louisville their second hit in the game, and the 1-3 lead. The game was still up for grabs with both teams letting scoring opportunities slip by. The 4^th and 5^th innings passed with both Cordova and Louisville stranding 4 base runners each.

The Rage came alive in the bottom of the 6^th. Two hit batters and back-to-back hits put Mathews out of the game. Boyd Quinley came in to pitch in relief, but didn’t fare any better, as the Rage placed a total of 11 batters on base and scored 8 runs, before the ump called the game. Final score: Cordova 1, Louisville 11.

The competition looks to be strong in this tournament with teams from Kentucky, Illinois, New York, Mississippi, Texas and the Dominican Republic participating. The Wolves will have to find a cure for their anemic bats if they are to be competitive. Cordova struggled from the plate with Foster, Patrick Mason and Ephraim McCleary producing the only 3 hits for the team. Ten Wolfpack batters struck out in the contest, 4 looking.

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Wolves frustrated in Saturday double-header

Disappoint was the flavor of the day as the Cordova Wolves lost two games Saturday to drop to a season record of 8-4. The day was filled with conflicting emotions, highs and lows, come from behind… too far ahead to lose; but when it was all said and done, and the play had ended, the prevailing sentiment was "so close, yet so far".

The day started with a late morning game at MUS. Cordova got on the board early with a 5 run second inning, which was capped by a 3 RBI triple by first-baseman Justin Harris. MUS answered in their half of the 2nd as they batted around, scoring 5 runs of their own.

The Owls chalked up an additional run in the 3^rd, and Cordova temporarily took a 7-6 lead in the top of the 5^th off of back-to-back, RBI singles from Brandon Badgett and Blaine Moore. Back came MUS in the bottom of the 5^th, scoring 3 runs, to retake the lead 7-9.

It all came down to the final inning. Top of the 7^th, down by 2, last at bat, with 2 outs… Moore drives in Harris with an RBI single through the short-stop gap, bringing the game within 1 run of a tie. Badgett stands on 3^rd, with Moore on 1^st, but there they were to remain, as the final Wolfpack batter popped-up to the MUS 2^nd baseman. MUS Owls win 8-9.

The Wolves had produced 8 hits in the loss. Moore was 2 of 3 with 2 RBI’s; Pinkston and Badgett continued their hitting streaks, each going 2 for 4; and Ephraim McCleary and Harris each hit safely in the game.

Jay Hollenbeck pitched the complete game, and the defense yielded 3 errors in the contest.

Can you ever be too far ahead not to lose? The answer in baseball is "it ain’t over until it’s over" or no, you can’t ever be too far ahead. This was proven in the second game of the day as the Cordova Wolves faced the Bartlett Panthers at CHS.

The Wolfpack built an early 9-4 lead after 2 innings of play. Cordova sent 12 batters to the plate in the 2^nd inning, amassing 5 hits and 8 runs. The score was at 10-6 through the 6^th inning. The pitchers on both sides were struggling to find the plate (or at least to get the ump to call strikes).

The 7^th inning started as so many other innings had in this game with the lead-off batter walking, then the following batter flied out to center field and it looked like it was going to be easy sailing to a 10-6 win for the Wolfpack. Unfortunately, that was not to be, as the next 12 Panther batsmen reached base off of a combined 3 hits and 7 walks. Bartlett went on to score 12 runs in the top of the 7^th, taking a 10-18 lead. The dejected Wolves were able to muster an additional run in the bottom of the 7^th, off of an RBI single by Chris Watson, but were unable to overcome the devastating top half of the inning. The mood of the players and the fans were as black as the jerseys Cordova wore as the final out of the game was made and the realization of the loss took hold.

Blaine Moore was 2 for 3 from the plate with an RBI triple and Patrick Mason was 2 of 4 with 2 runs and an RBI in the game.

Cordova burned 3 pitchers in the game: Terrance Maclin, Boyd Quinley and Travis Mathews. Their 7 inning combined line read – 18 runs off of 7 hits and 16 walks.

The team will have a week to lick their wounds and recover from the day before they begin tournament play next weekend in Southaven. The team has many positive elements to build upon, to include a summer record of 8-4, with a team BA of .315. After a short break, the players should be raring to regain their winning ways and close out the summer season with a bang.

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Cordova JV pluck ECS Eagles in 11-1 rout.

It was almost decided before it really got started, the out come of the game that is, as the Wolfpack JV scored 9 runs to open the game against ECS. Cordova would go on to score an additional 2 runs in the game, and ECS was held to just 1 run, for a final score of: Cordova 11 – ECS 1. Terrance Maclin did a fine job pitching, scattering 4 hits over 4 innings, and Jake Glover came to the mound in the 5^th inning to finish the game, and seal the victory, for the Wolfpack.

Pitching was aided by team defense in the win, as Eagle players were thrown out at home plate twice in the game. The first spectacular play came off of a ball the went to right field. Mark Foster scooped the ball and fired it to the relay man, first baseman Justin Harris, who spun and threw to Wolves catcher, Brandon Badgett, who applied a slap tag on the ECS runner attempting to score. The second play came in a bases loaded situation. Ephriam McCleary, playing third base, fielded a grounder and threw to home, forcing the advancing runner out; then Badgett rapidly hurled the ball to first to complete a rare 5-2-3 double play.

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Cordova defeat Germantown 7-2

What looked to be a pitching duel between Cordova’s Travis Mathews and Germantown’s Adam Brown, turned in favor of the Cordova Wolves in the 5^th inning, as they scored 5 runs to put the game ultimately in the win column for the Wolfpack. Brown pitched 4 innings for the Red Devils, allowing just 2 hits and 1 run before being relieved in the 5^th. Mathews went on to a complete game victory allowing just 4 hits and 2 runs over 6 innings while striking out a cool dozen Red Devil batsmen.

The 5^th was the breakout inning for the Wolfpack. The first 6 batters in the inning reached base, with 5 of them scoring off of RBI’s by Anthony Pinkston, Ephraim McCleary and Blaine Moore (2). The highlight of the game occurred in the 5^th off of Pinkston’s hit. After smacking a screamer past third for the hit, the Red Devil left-fielder committed an error and let the ball get past him to the fence. Pinkston, sped around the bases, beating the relay throw from left field to the plate, to stretch a single into a homerun.

Defensively Short-stop Patrick Mason had 3 put-outs in the field in the 7-2 Cordova win.

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Wolves JV best Chargers 9-2

Strong defense and aggressive base running marked the 9-2 Cordova JV victory over the Covington Chargers, Tuesday afternoon, June 12^th. Right-fielder Mark Foster ran down, and caught, 4 long balls to the outfield; and second baseman, Travis Calvi had 3 put outs; to lead the defense to a "zero" error outing.

Cordova was strong on the base paths, as Justin Harris stretched 2 hits to deep left field into triples, and the Wolfpack amassed 6 stolen bases in the game. The most dramatic steal coming in the 4^th inning with Chris Hawk standing in at the plate, and Calvi stealing home on the pitch. Everyone in the stands prayed that Hawk had caught the signal from Coach Barnett and didn’t knock Calvi’s head off swinging at the pitch.

Jay Hollenbeck pitched a solid game, registering 5 K’s, while not giving up a free base (0-BB, 0-HBP) to the Covington Chargers, for a 6 inning, complete game, victory.

Third baseman, Ephriam McCleary led the offensive stats going 2 for 2 with 4 RBI’s from the plate. Couple that with both Brandon Badgett and Harris’ 2 of 4 outings, and they accounted for 6 of Cordova’s 10 hits. Foster, Hawk, Patrick Mason and Calvi also registered hits in the 9-2 win.

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Wolves JV fall to Mustangs 6-10

"Going, going, gone", exclaimed the fans, Monday, June 11^th, as they watched an 0-2 pitch to Cordova short-stop Patrick Mason sail over the 323 ft marker in left field, for a solo home-run. Mason’s home-run put the Wolfpack up temporarily 2-0 to lead off the top of the 2^nd against the Mustangs.

The lead was short lived, as Houston came back in the bottom of the 2^nd scoring 4 runs of their own to make the score 2-4. The inning was marked by both great plays and defensive lapses. An inning opening error was erased with a well executed 5-4-3 double play (McCleary-Calvi-Harris), but back to back errors, with two outs, allowed 3 runs to score, giving Houston the upper hand, which they never relinquished in the remainder of the game.

Cordova continued to put runs on the board, but Houston out paced them to a final score of 6-10. Blaine Moore got 2 of the Wolves 9 hits, including an RBI double; and Anthony Pinkston also had 2 hits. Brandon Badgett added to the extra base tally with an RBI triple. Justin Harris, Chris Hawk and Travis Calvi also hit safely in the outing.

Boyd Quinley and Terrance Macklin combined pitching efforts, facing 36 Houston batters over 6 innings.

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Jerry's Summer Bash

Rain and rip-tides, neither of which slowed down the boy’s on the Cordova JV team during their trip to Pensacola Beach and Jerry’s Summer Bash Baseball Tournament. They were slated to play Pensacola’s Pace HS and Pine Forest HS, Pensacola Catholic HS, and Alabama’s Faith Academy. The weather cleared long enough to complete three of the four games, with the JV winning two of their three outings.

Friday, June 8^th, pitted the Wolfpack JV against Pace HS. Cordova fell behind early in the game 4-1 to Pace due largely to a three run homer in the first inning. The Wolfpack came back in the top of the 5^th with two runs, as Brandon Badgett drove in Anthony Pinkston on a ball to left field, and three batters later was walked home for the second run of the inning. Pace added two more runs in the bottom of the 6^th to make the score 3-7, and Cordova was unable to get a man on base their last at bat, closing the books on the tournament opener, losing 3-7 to a good team from Pace HS.

Jay Hollenbeck pitched the complete game allowing five earned runs off of five hits, but the story of the game was the atrocious defense played by the Wolfpack, who committed eleven errors in the opener. Patrick Mason’s catch in shallow left field and subsequent post collision –summersault has to go down as the play of the game.

Offensively Cordova had five hits in the outing, batting a .192 as a team with eight batters striking out. Badgett was 2 of 3 from the plate with 2 RBI’s. Hollenbeck, Travis Calvi and Pinkston account for the balance of the hits in the game.

The Wolves came out with a different attitude Saturday, June 9^th, as the JV played a double header against Pensacola Catholic and Faith Academy, winning both games. The first game of the day against Catholic was a dog fight with neither team marking the scoreboard until the 5^th inning. The Wolfpack strung together a series of hits to load the bases in the 5^th, but Cordova’s first run came with one out, as Mark Foster crossed the plate after Catholic’s pitcher baulked. With the bases loaded, Badgett singled in the second run of the inning and Ephraim McCleary got a two RBI single to bring the score to 4-0. Catholic came back in the bottom of the 5^th and scoring two runs and Cordova added an insurance run in the 6^th as Blaine Moore crossed the plate for the second time in the game, off of a throwing error by Catholic’s first baseman, for a final winning score of 5-2.

Travis Mathews pitched a great game for the Wolfpack, striking out 12 and allowing 5 hits during the 7 inning game. The defense came through with a "zero" in the errors column. Mathews also had a hot bat, going 2 for 2 from the plate and McCleary drove in 2 of the teams 5 runs in the game, for the offensive stand outs.

The rain showers during Saturday’s second game did not dampen the JV bats one bit, as Cordova pounded Faith Academy 19-0 in their contest. Pinkston, Badgett, Foster, Boyd Quinley and Anthony Albonitti all had multiple hits in the game; and Adam Bowling allowed just one hit while striking out four, in this time limit shortened, three inning game. The time limit expired, and the ump shouted "game", while the JV was on it’s 20^th plate appearance of the inning, with just one out in the books.

Sunday’s scheduled game against Pine Forest was rained out after one inning of play with Cordova leading 1-0.

Overall the Cordova JV had a team BA of .333 for the three game tournament, with Badgett going 5 for 11 (.454) and Pinkston going 4 of 10 (.400) for the tournament from the plate. After opening game jitters the defensive play improved dramatically.

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Cordova beats St. Benedict 10-0

Cordova JV completed their first game of the summer season by thrashing St. Benedict 10-0 on Tuesday, June 5th. Adam Bowling and Terrance Macklin combined pitching efforts for the victory, allowing just one run between the two of them. Macklin struck out 5 of the 6 batters he faced and Bowling added another 2 K's, for a team 7 strike outs in 5 innings work in this shut out.

Offensively Brandon Badgett and Kirk Hall led the way. Badgett was 2 of 3, and Hall was 2 of 4, from the plate. Justin Harris, Anthony Pinkston, Chris Hawk, Ephraim McCleary and Travis Calvi accounted for the remainder of the team's nine hits.

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