Gainesville Bulldogs win district championship
Photo by Karla Smith Class 2 District 10 champions The Gainesville Bulldogs baseball team are district champs after defeating Alton and Bakersfield in the Class 2 District 10 tournament held May 19-20 in Gainesville. Members of the team are, from left, (front row) Cutter Morrison, Grant Leeker, Hunter Luna, Dawson Hewett, Kelton Solomon, Joey Baker, Keaton Dabney, Marvin Curtis, Keegan Crouse; (back row) Coach Austin Thompson, Thomas Latham, Owen Donley, Haden Evans, Brayden Miller, Chase Luna, Aden Gaulding, Kolby Anderson, Lyle Pippin, Avery Rodrigue, Head Coach Blake Hobbs.
The Gainesville Bulldogs baseball team is the Class 2 District 10 Champions after defeating the Bakersfield Lions in the championship matchup on Tuesday, May 20. It was an especially happy evening for the Bulldogs because they were on their home field hosting the district tournament for the first time.
“All I can say is all glory to God! I believe God had a hand in all of our success here at the end,” said GHS Coach Blake Hobbs. “Our energy in the tournament was amazing. I was very happy with our approach, our effort, our attitudes and our energy.” The Bulldogs went into the tournament seeded second with the Lions taking the first seed, having defeated Gainesville twice in the early part of the season. Both Gainesville and Bakersfield had a bye in the first round of play.
Friday, May 16, Fordland beat Mansfield 7-6 in the opening game of the tournament, then number six seed Alton upset number three seed Norwood 2-1 in the second game of the evening.
In the semifinals, Bakersfield defeated Fordland 3-2. Bakersfield’s Ty Cotter was the winning pitcher. Ty, Bodie Hardin, Eli Cotter and Russ Lovins had one hit each to seal the win.
Following that game, Gainesville took the field to face Alton and defeated the Comets 11-1.
Gainesville junior Grant Leeker had a good night at bat, going 2-3 with a double, a triple and three RBIs. Kolby Anderson was 2-2 with a double and an RBI, and Avery Rodrigue was 1-3 with a double and three RBIs.
Bakersfield returned to Gainesville Tuesday and the game marked the end of the season for the Lions, who lost 8-2, leaving Bakersfield with a very respectable 12-9 record, especially in light of the loss of their home field in the March 19 tornado.
Bakersfield’s Austin Durham pitched a good game for the Lions, allowing only two earned runs. Ty Cotter and Bodie Hardin had two hits. Alex Helm, Jake Summers, Austin Durham and Case Lashley had one hit.
“The season did not end the way we wanted it to, but I am proud of the boys with how we fought through the adversity we faced this season,” said Bakersfield Coach Brandon Cotter.
In the championship game, GHS pitcher Hunter Luna, the Gainesville team’s only senior, pitched 6.1 innings with 10 strikouts. Luna did exactly what a senior needed to do, Hobbs said. “He commanded the zone and attacked. He handled pressure and allowed us to take home the first place trophy.”
Leeker’s bat also helped the Bulldogs’ cause as he went 2-5 with a triple, three runs scored and an RBI.
The Bulldogs (15-7) were originally scheduled to start the state tournament with the sectional game at Hartville(14-9) Monday, May 26, but unrelenting rain caused the game to be moved to West Plains Tuesday, May 27.
“I’m excited to see what we can do against Hartville,” Coach Hobbs said.