By Kyle Roberts
TIOGA, La. — Ruston got clutch runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat Tioga on Monday 4-3 and will now start a stretch of home games later this week.
“We squeaked out a victory,” Ruston High Head Coach Bryan Beck said. “It’s a really tough place to play. They always have a good team, and their community gets behind their high school. They had a big crowd, and it was rowdy down there. Our kids are tough. They played some tough games lately and I’m really proud of them and our coaches for sticking together through some tough times.”
After falling behind 2-0 in the bottom of the third, the Bearcats got on the board in the top of the fifth after senior Hudson Wood tripled into left field to score both senior Jackson Lee and junior JP Moak to tie the game 2-2.
“Hudson really got us back in this one offensively,” Beck said. “We had a lot of changes early, and we’re just really aggressive, and sometimes that runs you out of innings. But that’s the style of ball we aply, and we’re not going to apologize for that.”
The Bearcats added the two runs they needed in the top of the seventh after senior Jackson Burroughs drew a bases-loaded walk to score Lee, and in the next at-bat, senior Nolan Parnell singled to first base and scored Moak.
The Bearcats would hold on despite an Indian run in the bottom of the seventh.
Wood led the team with two hits and two RBI at the plate. Junior Peyton Nations came in relief of sophomore mid-week starter Hudson Wilkerson to get the win on the mound after fanning six batters in 3.2 innings.
“Hudson grinded and grinded as much as he could, and then we turned it over to Peyton, and he was lights out,” Beck said. “His stuff was really, really good. We’ve got to have a bullpen to make a run in our district and in the playoffs.”
Junior Sam Hartwell came in for the final inning to record the save.
Ruston will return home Thursday, March 5, to take on Weston for Lincoln Parish School Board Night. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
