Wildcats rout Tigers

By Chris Walsh

May 10, 2008 02:19 am

— VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats cruised through the first round of the GHSA Class AAAAA state playoffs on Friday, defeating Bradwell Institute 10-2 and 17-0.
“I thought we swung the bats exceptionally well tonight,” said Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman after the sweep. “We came out swinging the bats in both games, and put them away early.”
In the first game, the Wildcats used strong hitting and a powerful pitching duo on the mound to put away the Tigers 10-2 in seven innings.
Kyle Rowe started the game and earned the win, going four innings, allowing two runs and four hits, while striking out four. Chad Prain came in to close out the game, going three innings, allowing no earned runs and no hits.
Valdosta was firing on all cylinders at the plate as well, scoring four runs in each of the first two innings.
In the first inning, Taylor Prain was hit by a pitch to start the inning, then Thomas Lovett hit a long RBI double to score Prain and put Valdosta on the board.
Cameron Cain followed with an RBI double. Then Galen Smith connected and hit a two-run home run to make the score 4-0.
In the second inning, Cain scored on an RBI single by Galen Smith. Smith went 2-for-2 with three RBIs.
Two batters later, Chad Prain hit a three-run home run, making it 8-0.
The Tigers got a run back in the third with a Josh Rivers RBI single that scored Steven Dill, but that would be their only earned run of the afternoon. Bradwell’s other run in the game came on an error in the sixth.
The Wildcats added another two runs to put the game away in the third inning. Lovett and Cain each hit a RBI sacrifice fly to score Stuart Brooks and Taylor Prain.
The Wildcats then came out in the second game with their most ferocious inning of the season.
Valdosta, who was the away team in the second game, put up 14 runs in the first, before Bradwell even had a chance to bat.
The Wildcats put up those 14 runs on nine hits, five walks, and one error. Ten of the first 11 batters for Valdosta reached base safely.
“We had enthusiasm early, and came out swinging,” Shuman said. “The pitching wasn’t quite there, but it will be.”
Kentrell Hargrove started on the mound for Bradwell and was pulled after retiring just one batter. Hargrove was replaced by Dill after giving up nine earned runs on six hits and three walks.
Taylor Prain led off the game with a single and Lovett followed with a single of his own. Cain followed with another single, but the shot to center field went under the Bradwell outfielder’s glove, and all three Wildcats raced around the bases to score on the error.
Five batters later, Jamie Turner hit a three-run triple that scored Wesley Welch, Earl Daniels and Kyle Rowe. Welch was running for Valdosta catcher Galen Smith, who had reached on a walk.
Turner then scored on a Taylor Prain RBI double. Lovett came up next and hit a two-run double that scored Prain and Brooks, who reached after getting hit by a pitch.
Lovett scored three batters later on an Earl Daniels RBI single.
Two more runs came from Welch and Daniels, who both scored on wild pitches to Chad Prain. Rowe followed with a deep two-run home run to right-center.
Valdosta put up run No. 15 in the second on an error. Lovett reached first and Brooks scored after Dill, the Bradwell pitcher, threw what should have been a routine putout high over the first baseman’s head.
Brooks took the mound in the second and also allowed no hits in the scoreless inning.
The Wildcats put up their final two runs, all with two outs, in the third inning. Chad Prain led off with a walk and scored three batter later on a Brooks RBI double.
Welch came in to pinch run for Brooks and scored two batters later on a Lovett single, which made the score 17-0.
Galen Smith took the mound in the third and had two strike outs to help Valdosta put the game away for good. The only Bradwell hit of the game came against Smith, on a single by Jeff Polk off the shortstop’s glove.
For Valdosta, Taylor Prain, Lovett, Daniels and Brooks combined to go 9-for-9 with six RBIs and nine runs in the blowout. Lovett and Turner each had three RBIs, and Lovett, Brooks and Welch each had three runs.
The Wildcats return to action this Wednesday, when they host the Hiram-Luella winner in the second round of the playoffs.

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