By Chan Davis
Special to The Dispatch
The Caledonia High School baseball team took revenge on East Webster on Monday afternoon with a 15-1 victory at Columbus High’s Falcon Field.
After suffering a 12-2 loss to East Webster on Saturday in Maben, Caledonia returned the favor with a mercy-run rule victory in an impromptu affair. The teams played in Columbus after East Webster’s tournament was washed out with Sunday night’s rain.
“All we did was reverse places,” Caledonia coach John Wilson said. “We looked horrible Saturday and they didn’t play well today. Maybe we will both play well when we play them next week.”
Caledonia built a 3-0 lead in the opening frame when Blake Burke singled and scored on a Dillon Studdard single. Studdard scored on a Nathan Kendrick single before Brandon Darling doubled to score Kendrick.
Caledonia (7-3) added two more runs in the top of the second. Montana Jacobs opened the inning with a walk and Trey Lancaster reached on an error to set the table for the top of the batting order. Caleb Brown moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt, and Burke singled home Jacobs. Cody Allsup then hit a deep sacrifice fly to plate Lancaster to give the Confederates a 5-0 lead.
East Webster (5-4) answered with a run in the third when Cody McKee singled and scored on a Conner Burton double. Allsup, a senior right-hander, didn’t allow any more en route to allowing seven hits and striking out four.
Brown homered in the fourth and tripled in a nine-run sixth to lead Caledonia. The effort served as a confidence booster for the sophomore shortstop who made three errors Saturday against East Webster.
“It feels good,” Brown said. “I had to get focused and get back on track.”
Caledonia’s first nine batters reached in the sixth, when it sent 13 batters to the plate.
East Webster attempted to extend the game in the bottom of the sixth by loading the bases, but Jacobs, who started the stanza in relief of Allsup, closed the door with three straight fly balls.
Kendrick added a double, two singles, and drove in a pair. Studdard singled twice, Darling doubled, Burke singled twice, and Allsup drove in a pair with a single.
Burton added a single for East Webster, while McKee had two singles. Cody Silver also singled twice.
n Columbus 10, East Webster 0: Christian Dale threw a six-inning no-hitter and struck out nine to lead the Falcons. Hunter Mullis was 3-for-3 with four RBIs, while Chris McCullough was 2-for-2 with a triple and four runs scored. Dale also was 2-for-2, and Greg Sykes had two RBIs to help the Falcons improve to 7-2.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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