Kingwood Mustangs Versus Tomball Cougars

We will do our best to convey the intensity of the Kingwood-Tomball contest Saturday night, March 6^th, as the players from each team laid it on the line for pride in a game that saw many of the players playing against players they play or have played side by side with on select teams.

Kingwood Senior Daniel Edwards posted a strong performance going 6 1/3 innings and giving up 3 runs all of which scored following his exit from the game. Senior reliever Jimmy Jordan got some clutch outs in the 7^th inning before Jonathan “The Iceman” Beatty came on the throw three scoreless frames in innings 8, 9, and 10.

Offensively, Kingwood got on the scoreboard in the 3^rd inning as centerfielder Kyle Denny walked with nobody out and was sacrificed to 2^nd by lead off hitter third baseman, Greg Gossett. Second baseman Josh Fountain was safe on an error and the 3 hole hitter, Johnny Whittleman scored Denny and Fountain with an opposite field triple into the left field gap that went to the fence. Kingwood went into the top of the 7^th inning with a 2-0 lead and would add one badly needed run (as it turned out) in that frame.

Rightfielder, Doug Simmons, started it off with a single and was advanced on a sacrifice bunt by A.J. Pendleton. Pinch hitter, Kenneth Negron, reached on an error by the first baseman sending Simmons to third. With one out, Greg Gossett with an 0-2 count lifted a fly ball deep enough into right field for a sacrifice fly that would score Simmons from third making the score 3-0. Following a late Tomball rally in the bottom of the 7^th inning that would leave the score tied 3-3 there would be no more scoring by either team until the top of the 10^th inning.

Whittleman started it with a walk, was sacrificed to second by DH John Seitz. First baseman Ryan Mize followed with a single that moved Whittleman to third where he was scored on a sacrifice fly by Brooks making the score Mustangs 4 – Cougars 3, but Kingwood was not done. Simmons ripped a single up the middle moving Mize to second. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and were promptly driven home by A.J. Pendleton’s double to the left field fence that gave Kingwood a 6-3 lead going into the bottom of the 10^th inning. That would be all Beaty needed despite getting the bases loaded by the tenacious Cougars with only 1 out, Beaty got a clutch strike out for the second out. A routine fly ball to center then ended a most memorable game for fans and players alike.