Dawgs fall to Heights; Lady Dawgs run-rule Wolves

The Copperas Cove Bulldawgs slid from third to fourth after suffering a close 4-2 loss to Harker Heights on Friday, paired with Midway’s 5-1 win over Killeen.

 

The Dawgs battled hard with sophomore Jaylen Smith dueling it out on the mound with Harker Heights junior ace Daniel Cole.

 

Jaylen (Smith) is a go-getter,” said Cove head coach Dusty Brittain. “He got in trouble a couple times but pitched his way out of it. He’s a sophomore and, if we can get him to limit the walks, he’s going to be something else. I think his up side is there. If he keeps working, he has the chance of being really successful on the mound.”

 

The underclassman held his own, surrendering just one earned run on two hits while striking out five and walking six. Despite giving up four walks and two runs against the first six batters faced, Smith settled down and controlled the Knights’ bats. He allowed just two hits and two walks over the next four innings.

 

Cole had 12 strikeouts to no walks but surrendered two earned runs on five hits.

 

“I told the guys, ‘As much as I hate to lose and for those seniors to lose possibly their last game here, there are a lot of positives to take from it,’” said Brittain. “Daniel (Cole) is a great pitcher and we hit the ball like crazy. When we have a good approach, we’re aggressive and we’re capable.”

 

Errors, walks and a pair of passed balls were again costly for the Dawgs in a contest that came down to a few plays making the difference.

 

“We had opportunities,” said Brittain. “We got a lot of guys on base but we gave them a few runs with the errors and walks but I take a lot of positives away from this. We have taken the approach that every game is a playoff game.”

 

The first two Knights’ runs came a bases-loaded walk and a passed ball.

 

The Knights added another run in the second inning when a passed ball allowed Tyler Torres to score from third. Torres singled to reach and was batted to third by Kyle Skelton after stealing second base.

 

The Knights added their fourth run of the contest on another Cove error in the third inning. Jacob Mitchell drew a walk to reach base and was moved to second base on another walk to Tyler Lamborn. Mitchell scored when a high fly ball off the bat Jared Kaltenbaugh was dropped by Cove freshman right-fielder Colby Jost.

 

The Dawgs finally got on the board in the bottom half of the third.

 

Brandon Williams connected on a leadoff single from the ninth spot to get things going and Tim Bechtold followed suit at the top of the order to put two runners on.

 

Senior Michael Hays then connected on a one-out double to left field to score Williams and Bechtold was knocked home on a groundout by sophomore Tyler Ingram.

 

The Dawgs went three up, three down in their last four at-bats despite having a few chances.

 

Senior Jeremi Hawkins singled in the bottom of the fourth inning with no outs but was left stranded after a 6-4-3 double play. He reached again with a single in the seventh. He advanced to third on stolen bases before being picked off by Cole from the mound to for out two.

 

The Bulldawgs (15-9, 5-6 in District 12-6A) can clinch a playoff spot tonight with a win at Shoemaker (5-14, 1-9).

 

The Dawgs can still clinch the third spot with a win over the Grey Wolves along with Midway losses to Belton and Ellison. If Midway splits and Cove wins, a tiebreaker scenario will occur.

 

“There’s a chance that we may be in already, but we’re approaching it like we’ve got to win that game,” said Brittain. “We also are looking at seeding. You never know what those other guys are going to do the rest of the way so our eyes are still on that three seed. We’re going to attack Shoemaker just like it’s a playoff game and a must-win game.”

 

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Lady Dawgs dominate Shoemaker in finale

 

The Copperas Cove Lady Dawgs pounded out 19 hits in a 16-2 domination of the Shoemaker Lady Grey Wolves in a rain-delayed contest on Thursday, highlighted by a grand slam by Peyton Choate as part of a seven-run second inning and a 4-hit performance by Elana Montanez.

 

Montanez dominated both at the plate and in the circle.

 

She surrendered two unearned runs on three hits while fanning eight and not giving up a single walk in six innings in the circle. She also was 4-for-5 from the plate with a double, a run and an RBI to help lead the Cove bats.

 

The Lady Dawgs added another run in the third inning and two more in the fifth before closing out the contest with a six-run sixth inning.

 

Singles by Madison Wasiak and Marisa Williams, a triple by Zoe Frizzell and a pair of doubles from Tessa Fain and Jayda Carter accounted for the offensive output.

 

Following Montanez were Choate (2-for-3, HR, R, 4RBIs, BB), Wasiak (2-for-2, 2R, BB), Fain (3-for-4, 2B, 2R, RBI, BB), Frizzell (2-for-4, 2R, 2RBIs), Carter (2-for-4, 2B 2R, RBI, BB), Williams (2-for-4, 2R) Makaela Burgess (1-for-2, R, 2RBIs, BB), and Riley Collier (1-for-3, R, RBI, BB).

 

The Lady Dawgs finished the regular season in the third spot with an 11-14 overall record and a 7-5 mark in District 12-6A play. They played a warm-up game against Hutto last night and will face 11-6a runners-up Rockwall in the first round of the playoffs.