“I don’t know how to describe a win like that,” first-year Belton coach Eddie Cornblum said after his team destroyed Copperas Cove 27-2 in five innings on an unusually chilly and windy Friday night at Tiger Field.
That’s what happens when you give the Tigers (12-4 overall, 4-0 District 12-5A) - who remained tied for first place with Bryan after the Vikings defeated Killeen Ellison 13-3 in five innings - more than enough help.
Belton took advantage of 12 walks, six errors, two catcher interference calls and several other mistakes by Cove outfielders, who had trouble tracking and catching the ball in the cold gusts.
Shane Hoelscher went 3-for-5 with five runs batted in, including his second home run of the season, and Thornton, Crowell, Tyler Vail and DJ Denman each had two of the Tigers’ 17 hits. Belton batted around for 10 runs in the second inning and went through the lineup twice for 14 more in the fourth, and 16 players scored in a game shortened by the mercy rule.
“(It was) cold and long, really long,” said Thornton, who went 2-for-3, drove in two runs and scored twice.
In the second, Belton sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs on only four hits.
John Nieberding reached base on a catcher’s interference and Brett Hernandez walked before Hoelscher’s three-run home run, the Tigers’ first hit, to left-center field put Belton up 4-0.
The Bulldawgs (10-6, 2-2) made three costly errors in the inning, walked four batters and Crowell eventually had a two-run double off the left-center wall to give Belton an 11-0 lead after two innings.
“They were talking that they wanted to make a statement (against Cove),” Cornblum said about a Bulldawg squad that blasted Temple 19-1 last week but lost to Bryan 15-5 on Tuesday. “I think today, obviously, they did by the way they hit the ball and came out and played.”
They certainly did, but that wasn’t the Tigers’ intention.
“(We) just wanted to come out here and play another game,” said Crowell, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI.
In the fourth, the reserves kept the onslaught going. They totalled nine hits in 19 at-bats, were issued five walks by three Cove pitchers and runners routinely halted at third base in an effort to prevent running up the score.
Judd Messer, who had only four plate appearances coming into Friday, had three in the fourth inning alone.
“We just came out playing, got the hits going and went from there - 27 runs,” Thornton said.
Overshadowed in the rout was the sound pitching performance of John Beck (2-1), who threw a two-hitter and kept the speedy Bulldawgs off the basepaths.
“Our whole gameplan was to keep them off the bases, let our defense play and keep the speed away from putting pressure on us. He did that tonight,” Cornblum said of Beck.
Through Belton's 23 offensive innings of league play, it has outscored opponents 46-6 and has had a runner on base in every inning but one.
The Tigers turn their attention to next week’s games against Killeen Ellison on Tuesday and the Bell County rivalry game with Temple on Friday.
“We’re on a good track right now,” Crowell said.
Added Cornblum: “After that win against (College Station A&M) Consolidated (on the road Tuesday), I think we felt pretty good about ourselves. Our last two practices were really good and I think these guys are getting a little bounce in their step and starting to feel exactly what they can do in this district."
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
