Dawgs clinch playoff berth with 5-2 win over Belton

By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press

Revenge is sweet.
After three years of coming out on the wrong end of battles with the Belton Tigers, including losing last year’s play-in game, Copperas Cove hurler Cameron Johnson made sure that didn’t happen again with a strong performance on the mound and a solid contribution from the plate in Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Tigers.
“It feels the best to beat Belton out of any other team in the district,” said Johnson. “I’d say they are probably our rivals in the district. Every time we play them it’s going to be a good game or we’re going to butt heads or something.”
The Dawgs were looking to wash the bad taste from their mouth after losing the play-in game and watching the Tigers fill their spot in the playoffs.
“There are lingering emotions every year,” said Johnson. “We always come in like, ‘we’ve got to beat Belton.’ Beating them boosts us up a lot. 
The senior allowed two runs in the top of the first inning on two hits and allowed another hit in the second inning before dropping the hammer with outs on 16 of the next 17 batters to secure the win.
“I was a little nervous,” Johnson said about the quick start by Belton. “After that inning, I saw that we put up some runs and I knew my guys were going to hit the ball and score runs so, as long as I didn’t give up any more runs, we’d be fine.”
Johnson also provided some of his own run support with a 1 for 1 night with a triple, a run, an RBI and a walk.
Junior Nick Izquierdo was 2 for 3 from the plate and senior Tyler Ingram was 1 for 2 with two RBIs to lead the Dawgs’ five hits on the night.
“That’s what I expect from them,” said Johnson. “They go out and work hard every day in practice. They showed what they work on in practice today. They got a bunch of hits and I’m proud of them.
“As a pitcher, when you know you team is going to put up runs, you don’t really have to worry about giving up runs. You just have to worry about doing what you’re supposed to do and throwing strikes.”
It looked like it may be long night for Johnson and the Dawgs when a single Aaron Krueger and a walk by Tannor Fischer put two runners on and pitcher Reese Perry knocked them home on a double to the right-centerfield gap for a 2-0 lead.
Johnson allowed to two baserunners from there in the complete-game win.
“It was another great outing for him,” Copperas Cove head coach Dusty Brittain said of his senior hurler. “He was all around the zone. I loved the way he could finish the game and not have to worry about pulling in relief. He’s coming into a good part of the season for him to be so hot, so I’m pleased with his performance and having a big night on senior night.”
The Dawgs then began to slowly chip away at the Tigers’ lead with runs in each of the next three at-bats.
A single by junior Josh Ropple and a walk by Johnson put two runners on before Ropple eventually scored on a passed ball for the 2-1 Belton lead.
A two-out single by Payton Vybiral put a runner on for the Tigers in the top of the second but a groundout to the mound by Krueger ended the threat.
The Dawgs knotted the game in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Wagner that scored Izquierdo who reached on a lead-off double and stealing third.
Johnson’s second strikeout of the game and a pair of groundouts to Jacob Wagner at second put the Dawgs back at the plate with a chance to take the lead and they did just that.
An RBI triple to left-centerfield by Johnson scored junior Michael Goudeau from second after he was hit by the pitch to reach and stole second. Johnson then scored on a sacrifice fly by senior Tyler Ingram for a 4-2 Cove lead after three.
“We came back in those first three innings with execution – executing bunts and sacrifice flies was huge,” said Brittain. “That’s our approach. Jacob keeps coming up clutch in huge situations and Nick has been a huge rally-starter for us. 
“We have countless guys coming through with big hits over and over. Ingram coming through with that sac fly was huge. Every run matters and that’s what good, playoff teams do. I thought we looked like a playoff team tonight.”
Both pitchers took care of business in the fourth inning with six up, six down before the Dawgs added their final run in the bottom of the fifth.
Goudeau was hit by a pitch for the second-consecutive at-bat and, after stealing second and third, Ingram made them pay with an RBI single to left field.
Johnson then struck out four of the next six Belton batters and forced infield groundouts on the other two batters to secure the win.
Johnson finished with two earned runs on three hits while striking out nine and walking just two in seven innings in the win.
Ropple (1 for 2, R) accounted for the fifth hit by Cove. Goudeau was 1 for 1 but had two runs and Wagner was 0 for 2 but had an RBI.
Perry suffered the loss for Belton. He allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits while striking out six and walking one in six innings of action.
Perry (1 for 3, 2B, 2RBIs), Krueger (1 for 3, R) and Vybiral (1 for 2, BB) accounted for the Belton hits.
Brittain now wants his team to take care of business on the road in the season-finale at Belton and lock up that second seed.
“We feel like we still have unfinished business,” said Brittain. “We need to go down there and handle our business. We need to avoid all those crazy scenarios that could happen if we split. It’s a bigtime business trip for us on Friday. We have another big one on the mound and we expect big things out of Jaylen and we have to continue to be good offensively.
“Just settling for making the playoffs is not good enough and I think these guys understand that. If we can go get a two seed and win the games we’re supposed to win, then we’re capable of making a long run.”