Owls Score Late To Knock Off Columbia Academy 5-3

Ooltewah Breaks 3-3 Tie With Two-Run Fifth Inning

  • Friday, March 24, 2017
  • Larry Fleming
Jackson Malcolm of Ooltewah pitched four innings in relief in the Owls' 5-3 win against Columbia Academy on Friday at A.C. "Bud" Ball Field during Ooltewah Invitational baseball action.
Jackson Malcolm of Ooltewah pitched four innings in relief in the Owls' 5-3 win against Columbia Academy on Friday at A.C. "Bud" Ball Field during Ooltewah Invitational baseball action.
photo by Dennis Norwood

Every sermon Ooltewah coach Brian Hitchcox preaches from his baseball pulpit will at some point stresses defense.

After Friday’s five-error effort in its own Ooltewah Invitational at A.C. “Bud” Ball Field, Hitchcox was probably going to be delivering a fire and brimstone speech to his baseball team.

Despite the sloppy fielding – and throwing the ball around the yard and into the visiting dugout – Ooltewah banged out 10 hits, scored two runs in the fifth inning and defeated Columbia Academy 5-3 on a sunny, breezy day on the Ooltewah High School campus.

“We swung the bats better today, but we kind of stunk of the joint on defense,” Hitchcox said.

“We’re a pitching and defense first team and do just enough offensively with big hits to win some tight ballgames. Today we flip-flopped that.”

The Owls will play twice on Saturday, facing Jefferson County at 1:30 p.m. and Lincoln County at 4 p.m.

Ooltewah (8-1) fell behind 1-0 to the visiting Bulldogs (4-2) in the first inning, but answered by scoring twice in the third on Andrew Manning’s RBI single and a run-producing double by Sam Zettel.

“That was good,” said Manning, who went 3-for-4, scored once and added the one RBI. “We have a couple of words we go by and resilience is one of them. That was resiliency right there. We played our hearts out all day.”

In the fourth, Ethan Walls singled, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a single to left by Bryce Matthews, the No. 9 hitter in the Owls’ lineup.

At that point the Owls led 3-1 and starting pitcher Austin Spurgeon had settled into a bend-but-don’t break mode.

The visiting Bulldogs got a runner to third in the second – Drew Logsdon reached on Jackson Malcolm’s throwing error and Logsdon moved to second on the overthrow. Spurgeon retired the next three.

In the third, Spurgeon hit a batter and center fielder Jake Sullivan made a diving catch of Will McCall’s line drive for the first out. Spurgeon hit Anthony Kintz. Kavares Tears popped out and Alex Huey hit into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.

Malcolm relieved Spurgeon to start the fourth and got two quick outs. Alec Wright doubled, Jeans walked and Noah Brock was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Malcolm retired McCall on a fly ball to center.

Any high fly ball Friday died in the stiff wind.

“My role is to do whatever they need me to do,” Malcolm said. “I mainly have relieved this year. I love coming into the game and doing whatever I can to help out.”

Columbia Academy roughed Malcolm up for two runs to tie the game at 3-all in fifth.

Kintz reached on Zettel’s error at shortstop and Tears singled. Huey dropped a sacrifice bunt near first and Malcolm fielded the ball cleanly, but flipped the ball into the Bulldogs’ dugout to score Kintz. Logsdon’s hit to right pushed Tears across with the tying run.

“Coming in I thought (Malcolm) might not match up well against Columbia,” Hitchcox said. “When we saw how Spurgeon pitched to them we thought Jackson was the way to go. He did a fantastic job keeping them off balance and picking us up when we definitely needed it.”

Ooltewah came right back in the bottom of the fifth to score twice with what turned out to be the winning runs.

Manning got his third hit – all three were singles – and Logsdon hit Zettel. Malcolm walked to load the bases. McCall, playing shortstop, booted Trevor Wiggs’ ground ball and Manning scored the go-ahead run.

Ethan Walls singled to right and Zettel came home.

Logsdon was relieved by Harrison Warren, but came back to pitch the sixth.

“We had a few misplays, but we worked through them,” Malcolm said.

Said Hitchcox of the Owls’ perseverance, “We struggled defensively and put ourselves in bad situations and our pitchers were trying to battle through that the whole time. We had a chance to break the game open, but Columbia made some plays and we missed some opportunities. But we’ll take it.”

In addition to Manning’s three hits, Sullivan and Walls each added two hits. Sullivan, Manning and Zettel – the first three batters in the Owls’ lineup – combined for six hits, three runs and two RBIs.

The victory came after the Owls suffered their first loss of the season in a 5-4 loss to Murfreesboro Central Magnet on Friday.

Columbia Academy also took its first setback on Friday in a 5-2 decision against South Pittsburg.

BOXSCORE

Columbia Academy             100 020 0 – 3 6 2

Ooltewah                               002 120 x – 5 10 5

Logsdon, Perry (5), Logsdon (6) and Brock; Spurgeon, Malcolm (4) and Reed.

(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)

Ooltewah left fielder Trevor Wiggs swings during the Owls' 5-3 win over Columbia Academy in the Ooltewah Invitational. When Wiggs reached on an error in the fifth inning Andrew Manning scored the go-ahead run.
Ooltewah left fielder Trevor Wiggs swings during the Owls' 5-3 win over Columbia Academy in the Ooltewah Invitational. When Wiggs reached on an error in the fifth inning Andrew Manning scored the go-ahead run.
photo by Dennis Norwood
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