By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — Ruston High (2-1) split two games Thursday night with the Haughton Buccaneers, dropping the first game 3-1 before coming back and winning game two 6-3.
Due to the weather forecast, the schedule was shuffled to put game three on Friday, which was rained out and will be postponed indefinitely.
Ruston High head coach Bryan Beck said he was proud of the team for not only how they responded after losing game one, but also for the chaotic schedule changes due to the weather.
“I was proud of our kids for rebounding after the first game,” Beck said. “(Haughton) pitched a lefty on the mound against us (in the first game) that was giving us trouble to get timely hits. And then we made some mistakes with the ball that really cost us some runs. It was just kind of a weird game; we just couldn’t get the hits we needed, even after having runners in scoring position and a chance to tie.”
Haughton got up 2-0 in the top of the first inning, scoring first off of a passed ball and then a line drive single. The Buccaneers added another run in the top of the third inning on a single to third base to get the 3-0 lead.
The Bearcats scored in the bottom of the sixth inning after sophomore Dillon Williams came into to pinch hit, singling into right field to score senior Peyton Martin, closing the lead to 3-1.
Ruston’s batters were able to get eight hits on the night, while senior pitcher David Griep pitched four innings, giving up only four hits and one earned run. Griep also struck out five Buccaneer batters.
Sophomore Colt Lary came in to relieve Griep in the top of the fifth and did not surrender a single hit.
In between games, the Bearcats honored first responders, including Bearcat alum Steve Rogers, who will be retiring as Chief of Police of the City of Ruston. Lincoln Parish Sheriff Stephen Williams threw out the ceremonial first pitch, while Chris Taylor brought out the National Guard, which included some Bearcats that are currently serving.
Senior Talan Billberry took to the mound, and threw five total innings, striking out six and only giving up one earned run, leading Ruston to the 6-3 win to even the series.
“We came out in game two with really good energy,” Beck said. “Talan got on the bump for us and absolutely shoved them around. It was really good to see him come out and dominate on the mound like he did. He had a strict pitch count, and we pulled him when we were up 6-0. He was really, really good.”
Ruston scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning on a suicide-squeeze bunt by junior Kenden Freeman to score both Williams and sophomore John Parker Moak. Williams would follow with a triple in the bottom of the third inning to score sophomore Michael Brisco, giving Ruston a 3-0 lead.
The Bearcats would get three more runs in the bottom of the inning after Haughton’s pitcher walked junior Lander Smith with the bases loaded to score sophomore Sam Hartwell. Williams would then ground into a fielder’s choice to score senior Jake Simmons. Moak then hit a sacrifice fly into center field to score junior Jackson Lee, putting Ruston up 6-0.
Haughton would get three total runs in the final two innings, but it would not be enough to overcome Ruston’s 6-3 score.
“We really need to be able to split after (Haughton) got the first game,” Beck said. “To do that was really exciting. I told them it’s better to be 2-1 rather than 1-2, so we’ll take it.”
Ruston returns to action Monday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. at J.C. Love Field on the campus of Louisiana Tech to take on C.E. Byrd.
