Cordova Baseball Game Summaries

Cordova beats Harding 10-6 and advances in NABF tournament
Cordova finishes Backyard Burger Bash tournament with a 3-4 record
Cordova falls to Bartlett in tournament opener 2-7 (6/20)

Cordova beats Harding 10-6 and advances in NABF tournament.

After losing the opening game of the NABF tournament to Briarcrest, Cordova rallied in the 6^th inning, Thursday night, to beat the Harding Lions, 10-6, and advance in double elimination play.

As the fans huddled under umbrellas, the Cordova ball players stood in the drizzling rain and played out their "loser goes home" match against Harding. The evening started poorly for the Wolfpack as the Lions took advantage of 5 first inning hits, to take a 4-0 lead. Cordova came back in the bottom half of the 1^st to score 3 runs, capped by a 2 RBI hit from Alex Pinkston. Harding added a run to their tally in the 2^nd off of back-to-back doubles to expand their lead to 3-5.

Zach Zimmerman’s lead off bunt in the 2^nd inning, was followed by a Michael Pinkston single to left field. Zimmerman later scored, and Pinkston was brought home when Chris Miller hit a sacrifice fly, to tie the game at 5 all.

Harding pulled ahead in the 5^th 5-6, but Cordova came roaring back in the bottom of the 6^th. After the lead-off batter flied out, the next 5 Wolfpack batsmen reached base and scored, with Cordova taking what was to be the final lead of the contest 10-6. Michael Pinkston and Chris Miller both doubled in the inning and accounted for 3 RBI’s.

Following the 2^nd inning, Tim Long settled into his pitching grove, and allowed just 3 hits over the remainder of the game. He pitched the complete game victory and attained 4 K’s in the outing.

Offensive honors went to Michael Pinkston who was 2-3 from the plate, with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI’s.

Cordova finishes Backyard Burger Bash tournament with a 3-4 record.

The Cordova Varsity started with a bang, by winning their first two outings, in the 4^th of July Backyard Burger Bash, June 29^th – July 4th. Cordova easily handled West Memphis 5-1 and the Dallas Bulldogs 8-4 to open the tournament. Terry Stage got the complete game win from the mound against West Memphis, allowing just 3 hits over 7 innings of play. Left-hander, Justin Harris, was awarded the win against Dallas, as he and Tim Long combined to pitch the 7 inning game. While 7 Cordova Wolves registered hits in each of the games, Anthony Pinkston (3-3) and Nick Curtis (2-2) were noteworthy at the plate in the Dallas victory, combining for a perfect 5 for 5 with 3 walks.

Saturday’s game pitted Cordova against Dulin’s Dodgers 17’s. This contest proved to be close, but the Dodgers pulled ahead to achieve a 5-3 victory over the Wolfpack. Here again, Curtis had a hot bat, going 2 for 4 with a double. It was another Pinkston, Michael, who tallied extra hits against Dulins, also getting hits in 2 of his 4 trips to the plate. Long pitched a good game, allowing just 3 hits over 7 innings in the loss.

Chicago area’s Upper Deck team cooled the Wolfpack down Sunday by scoring 12 runs on 8 hits, to best Cordova 12-4. Zack Zimmerman was 3 for 4 with 2 RBI’s and 2 runs scored in the game.

Sunday’s evening game faired much better for the Wolfpack. Jack Sluder pitched the complete 7 innings for a 4-2 victory, over Collierville Pepsi. Derek Ryder and Zimmerman each hit safely in 2 of their 4 at-bats, accounting for 4 of the teams 7 hits.

Mississippi’s Madison Mets and the Brazos Valley Texas Renegades closed out the tournament for Cordova. The Mets topped the Wolfpack 9-6 on Monday. Cordova hit well in the game with 7 players batting safely in the outing. Scott Goodman was 2 for 4 with a double and Mark Miller hit 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s in the loss.

The final game had Long on the mound for his 4^th appearance in the tournament. Long pitched a total of 15 2/3 innings, almost one-third of all innings pitched by Cordova in the tournament. Brazos Valley proved too strong down the stretch, winning the game 7-4.

The Wolfpack, as a team, hit .242 in the 7 games of the 4^th of July tournament. Michael Migliaccio led all Cordova hitters with a .333 batting average (3-9), Zimmerman (.304, 7-23) and Anthony Pinkston (.300, 6-20) also batted .300 or better for the tournament.

The tournament championship was played on the 4^th of July between Dulin’s Dodgers 18’s and the Jackson 96’ers, with Dulin’s taking the title, winning by a score of 4-2. Both teams in the championship game came from Pool B. Pool A’s participants in the play-offs, Madison Mets and Upper Deck, were both eliminated in the semi-finals.

Cordova falls to Bartlett in tournament opener

Cordova fell to Bartlett 2-7 to open the Trojan Diamond Classic, Wednesday, June 20^th, at Miles Field. Sluggish bats and defensive miscues were the story of the night. The Wolfpack was unable to get their offense going, mustering just 3 hits in the contest; and several untimely mental lapses in the field, allowed Bartlett to dominate the game.

The pitching tandem of Justin Harris and Travis Mathews allowed 5 hits over 6 innings of play. They struck out 7, but put 9 Bartlett runners on base by walks.