Pictured: #8 Sam Johnson
After a disappointing result on Tuesday April 14th against the Nashville Scrappers, the Bobcats set their sights on their home field duel with the Foreman Gators on Thursday, April 16th. In a performance that could only be described as nothing short of extraordinary, the Bobcats cruised to a 12-2 victory over the Gators with offensive and defensive excellence being showcased across the board.
In arguably their most complete game of the season, the Bobcats put together a dominant performance over the course of the game, starting with Israel Juarez’s dependable pitching from start to finish, striking out five batters and only allowing two runs. The Bobcats started off their blazing offensive with a blistering first inning beginning with an incredible double from Austin Courtney hit out to the left field fence. Soon one upping this was Sam Johnson however, who won the crowd over with a phenomenal smack out to deep right field to tally an inside the park homerun, while scoring Austin for the first run of the game. Drake Mathis and Trey Hoglund would also produce a duo of singles in the bottom of the first before the inning was finally closed. Continuing their monumental game, the Bobcats would fill the bases up in the second inning and, in a moment well overdue, Drake Mathis stepped up to the plate and powered through a bomb of a hit to far left field to earn a three RBI double, bringing home Sam Johnson, Cayden Haywood, and Donny Reaves to leave the score at 6-0.
Finally, the Gators offense would crack the ice in the top of the third with an RBI single from #34 Dayson Dawson to drive in #3 Hayden Easter. The Bobcats would keep the bombardment going through the next two innings as well with runs scored by a sacrifice fly from Jaiden Brown to score Trey Hoglund in the third and a wild throw from the Foreman catcher to score Aiden Dean in the fourth. The away side would go on to muster a second and final run in the top of the fifth inning from a bases loaded walk. To conclude their headline performance, the Bobcats would come together to score a finishing four runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the game two innings short. Jaiden Brown would lead the last second charge with a walk, then Austin Courtney would show off his pure batting prowess with his second RBI double of the game to score Jaiden. Sam Johnson would soon rejoin the scoring party as he would tally another RBI, scoring Austin Courtney on an infield hit that turned into a wild pitch. Second to last, Drake Mathis would get on base from an error as well, loading two of the three bases up for the final crushing blow dealt by Trey Hoglund, who walked off the game with a two RBI double to end the game early and to finish the game at 12-2 Hope.
After the game, we did a short interview with walk-off man Trey Hoglund to gather his thoughts on his and the team’s performance.
Reporter: “Trey, you came up there with the bases loaded and got the hit that ended the game, how did that feel?”
Trey: “Oh it felt great. I came in knowing we needed a base hit, not expecting to hit it that far out. I just wanted to do something good for my team.”
Reporter: “What does this win mean for the team?”
Trey: “It builds courage and makes us act like a team while having fun.”
Reporter: “What do you think about Israel Juarez’s game today?”
Trey: “Oh he threw great. We played behind him well.”
The Hope Bobcats’ next challenge will be a must watch rematch against the Nashville Scrappers on Friday April 17th, at 5:00pm.
