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The Columbus baseball team battled through a relatively tough week as they played a plethora of high-performing teams in the La Grange-hosted tournament at the end of the week. The Cards struggled throughout much of the week as the suffered three straight losses before ending the streak during the tournament. Their misfortunes started with a difficult, late loss to Industrial that set Columbus up for a difficult response game to start the tournament.
Vs Industrial, L, 7-4
The Cards got their week started with one of the tightest battles of the season during a heavily- extended extra innings battle against the Cobras. After the two teams matched each other with two runs each in the first inning, Columbus scored another in the third to break the tie. Industrial got the tying run in the top of the seventh and held Columbus scoreless at the bottom to force the game into extra innings.
It took four, scoreless extra innings before the Cobras took the advantage in the top of the 12th inning with four runs. The Cards managed just one run in response as they suffered the late defeat. Despite the offensive output in extra innings, the defense in regulation was solid as starting pitcher Kaleb Kuhn led the way with 12 strikeouts.
Vs Sealy, L, 10-3
The bad taste in their mouths from their loss against Industrial soured even more after their game against Sealy to start the La Grange tournament. The Tigers got their scoring started early with seven runs in the first three innings. Sealy went on to score one run in each of the next three innings to reach their final score. For the Cards’ offense, they managed just one run in the bottom of the first inning, and did not respond with a second run until the fifth inning. They picked up another run in the bottom of the seventh to push the game to its final margin.
Vs Cuero, L, 9-3
Like the game against Industrial, the Cards once again let go of the rope somewhat after building up a lead early in the game. Columbus came out with a three-run opening inning and then shut out Cuero in the bottom of the first. However, the fortunes of these teams flipped as the cards went scoreless for the rest of the game and Cuero scored three runs in the next two innings to tie it. Cuero went on to take the lead with two runs in the fifth inning, followed by a game-clinching four runs in the sixth.
Vs La Grange, W, 12-10 The Cards’ offense came back with a vengeance during the second day of tourney competition. They got their hottest start of the week with an impressive eight-run first inning to start the game. Columbus went on to hold the Tigers to two straight scoreless innings before once again squandering an early lead. La Grange scored eight runs in the third alone to tie the game. Columbus responded with a run in the fourth and three runs in the fifth to reclaim the lead as they held on for the win.
Vs Whitney, W, 3-2
The Cards finished their tournament action with a Saturday comeback against Whitney. It took a while for the Cardinals to wake their offense up on the last day of the tourney as they failed to score in the first four innings of the game. During that period, Whitney scored a run each in the second and fourth innings to create a small lead. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cards got a run closer with a score. They turned the tables in the bottom of the sixth, scoring two runs to take the lead back from their opponents. The Cards held Whitney from taking the lead in the top of the seventh as they claimed their second straight win. Dylan Zajicek had an impactful day at the plate with two runs batted in for the offense.
