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Bulldogs find Hornets nest at home
GIDEON, Mo. - The Holcomb High School Hornets baseball team (4-2) was on point Friday and took down a fierce Gideon Bulldogs team (0-3) 13-6.
Hornets baseball head coach Gary Dubar, in his debut season at Holcomb, said his greatest challenge so far is controlling attitudes among players.
“We gotta be level,” Dubar said. “We're all over the place most of the time.
“I've never seen anything like it,” he lamented. “We're like two teams. When we first started this game, we gave up runs in the first inning. Just bonehead plays, errors and laziness. Then they turned it around.”
So, what happened coach?
“I don't know,” Dubar responded. “Same thing happened to us yesterday against Rector, just in reverse.
“They started out well and crapped out,” the coach explained. “It's just this team. I think we all have a learning curve ahead of us.”
Holcomb Thursday bowed to Rector 16-6, the coach noted.
Gideon started out strong Friday and placed four runs on the board at the end of one.
But by the fifth inning, Holcomb was up 9-4, and chalked up two more runs in the top of the sixth when two Hornets took advantage of an overthrow at home and runners scored from second and third bases, nearly colliding at the plate, 11-4 Holcomb.
And as Dubar noted, the Hornets threatened more runs, but stranded three on base in the sixth.
The Bulldogs' Drake Grissom fielded a Hornets hit, launched a rocket from between second base and center field to catcher Brayden Knapp at home that was placed perfectly, denying a Hornets' run.
“That was a pretty good throw,” Knapp said postgame. “The runner tagged up at third on a short fly ball.
“I watched it come in right at me,” he said of Grissom's throw. “I thought it was a little short at first. It took a bounce, a good little hop. The runner came at me feet first and I was able to reach out and tag him. It was a good play.”
Grissom said the play resulted from two weeks of solid drills and practice.
“It was all just fundamentals,” Grissom said. “I grabbed the ball and took a shot home.
“It felt good,” he added. “I could feel the snap. It felt like a good throw.”
Gideon baseball head coach Caleb Buchanan agreed.
“I worked Grissom real hard,” Buchanan said. “He's come a long way.
“A year ago, he doesn't make that play,” Buchanan admitted. “He needed that. He needed to see he's capable of that kind of play. Because no doubt, that was a shot. For a young kid, that's a great throw. I'll take that every day. Brayden made the catch and put the tag down. Gotta love that.”
Knapp doubled in the bottom of the seventh, drove in a runner and brought the score to 13-6 Holcomb.
But the Bulldogs' outstanding defense wasn't enough, and the Hornets returned home as victors.
Holcomb's starter on the mound, freshman Bladyn Joiner, threw 99 pitches in six and two-thirds innings to deliver the win.
“I like playing under Coach Dubar,” he said postgame. “He teaches fundamentals and encourages us to play our best.”
Joiner said his philosophy is 'get out there and throw strikes,' and he has three go-to pitches.
“Fastball, curve and change-up,” Joined said. “I like to throw the change-up on one ball, two strikes counts.
“We have two games to play Monday,” he added. “I think my arm will be fine.”
Buchanan, in his third season with the Bulldogs, noted the game came down to pitching.
“Throwing strikes,” Buchanan said. “Holcomb hits the ball well.
“We scored the runs we needed to,” he added. “We just couldn't get them out. I told them when we're down it's time to put up some hits and that's what they did. We're a really young team. So that's exactly what I want to see.”
The Hornets faced Malden at home Monday, and played away at Portageville.
The Gideon team is off until April 4 when it plays away at North Pemiscot.