By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — Ruston High (10-6) jumped out early and never looked back Tuesday, defeating Northwood 7–1 behind a strong pitching performance from sophomore Max Pyles and aggressive play on the basepaths.
Ruston opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when senior Nolan Parnell delivered an RBI single to give the Bearcats an early lead. Ruston continued to apply pressure offensively throughout the game, collecting timely hits and taking advantage of opportunities on the bases.
Pyles got the start on the mound for Ruston and turned in four shutout innings, while striking out three and walking none. Juniors Peyton Nations and Tyler Roach both provided strong relief and allowed a combined just three hits and struck out six.
“Another big time start for our sophomore lefty,” Ruston High Head Coach Bryan Beck said of Pyles. “We’re really excited for what he’s done and provided for our program. And then Nations came in relief — he’s our number one bullpen guy, and he needed some work in a close ball game with the lead. Then Roach — we flipped him to the back end of the bullpen — he came in and closed the last two innings for us. All in all, our pitchers had zero earned runs, zero walks and nine put outs. We gave up one run in the game, but I’m really, really happy for those guys.”
Falcon starter Trace Carver took the loss after allowing five hits and four runs over 3.2 innings while striking out one and walking one.
Ruston’s offense was led by senior Kenden Freeman and junior Sam Hartwell, who each recorded two hits. Sophomore Hudson Wilkerson drove in two runs, finishing 1-for-1 at the plate in a late-inning hit.
The Bearcats were also aggressive on the bases, swiping six steals in the game. Hartwell accounted for two of those steals.
“Offensively, we were piecing it together — we threw up a two-spot in the first inning, and doubled that up again in the fourth,” Beck said. “We were putting together some good quality at bats. Our kids have been very disciplined at the plate, and we’re not chasing out of the zone.”
Defensively, Ruston played a clean game without committing an error. Senior Lander Smith led the team with eight fielding chances.
Northwood finished with nine hits in the contest, led by Briggs Byerley, who recorded three hits in three at-bats from the No. 9 spot in the lineup.
Ruston was scheduled to play Ouachita tonight, but the game has been postponed due to inclement weather.
