Wildcat Baseball has 4-1 week
By Coach Harv Antle
LICKING, Mo. – The Licking Wildcats went 4-1 over five games last week, beginning on Monday with a victory over Salem and ending on Saturday with a loss at Forsyth. The Wildcats improved their overall record to 12-2 as they prepare for another five-game week. Below are the summaries of last week’s games:
LICKING 7, SALEM 1
LICKING, Mo. — The Licking Wildcats eclipsed the Salem Tigers 7-1 Monday night at Deer Lick Park.
Kellar Davis went the distance on the mound for the Wildcats. In seven innings, the senior allowed one unearned run on four hits and fanned 11.
Keyton Cook homered and scored twice as part of a 2-for-4 night to lead the Licking offense. Silas Antle had two hits and an RBI as did Austin Stephens.
The win was Licking’s third in a row.
Licking prevailed in the JV game 13-1. Cole McCloy was the winning pitcher with relief from Karson Walker.
McCloy paced the offense with two hits and three RBIs, Isaac Rinne went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, and Nate Gambill added a 2-run double. The win raised the JV record to 4-1.
LICKING 12, STOUTLAND 1
STOUTLAND, Mo. — The Licking Wildcats traveled to Stoutland on Thursday night and took down the Tigers 12-1 in five innings.
Wildcat senior Rusty Buckner turned in a complete game on the mound for the win. He allowed one unearned run on four hits and struck out eight.
Buckner helped his cause at the plate with a 2-run homer in the first inning over the wall in center. In the game, Licking scored its 12 runs on 10 hits.
Kellar Davis went 2-for-2 with three RBIs for Licking. Austin Stephens drove in two runs, and Kannon Buckner reached base three times and scored twice.
LICKING 25, PLATO 3
PLATO, Mo. – On Friday night in Plato, Licking erupted in the fifth inning for 16 runs and defeated Plato 25-3.
Licking’s Keyton Cook had a huge night at the plate that included a pair of 3-run home runs and six RBIs. Kale Cook collected three hits, including a home run, and drove in five runs while Kellar Davis, Rusty Buckner, and Kannon Buckner all had multi-hit games for the Wildcats.
Austin Stephens was the winning pitcher. He worked three innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits. Karson Walker finished up in relief with two scoreless innings.
The JV ‘Cats had their way with the Eagles too, winning 23-3. Isaac Rinne picked up the win on the mound for Licking.
Cole McCloy tripled, singled, and scored four runs for Licking. Jasper McCloy also picked up a pair of hits and drove in two runs while Kannon Buckner was 4-for-4 with two RBIs as the JV Wildcats improved to 5-1 for the season.
LICKING 9, GAINESVILLE 4
FORSYTH, Mo. – Scoreless through three innings against the Gainesville Bulldogs, the Licking Wildcats dented the plate nine times over the final four frames and defeated Gainesville 9-4 on Saturday at Forsyth.
Silas Antle earned the win for Licking with five innings of work. He gave one run on five hits and walked four with 10 strikeouts. Jordan Ritz relieved and was charged with three runs over two innings.
Garrett Gorman doubled and tripled for Licking to drive in two runs. Antle went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, and Kale Cook was 2-for-4 with two RBIs while every starter collected at least one hit in the Wildcats’ 12-hit attack.
FORSYTH 9, LICKING 2
FORSYTH, Mo. – Licking saw its six-game winning streak broken at Forsyth on Saturday when the Panthers downed the Wildcats 9-2.
Licking committed three errors in the contest and fell behind early as Forsyth scored seven unearned runs in the first two innings. The rest of the contest was tightly contested but the early deficit proved too much for Licking to overcome.
Keyton Cook took the loss for Licking, working into the second inning. Kale Cook and Jasper McCloy relieved to finish the game.
Bryce Nolen went the distance for Forsyth and allowed just two runs over seven innings on five hits. The loss moved Licking to 12-2 for the spring.
Silas Antle had two hits for Licking and Rusty Buckner hit a 2-run homer in the sixth to break up the shutout.
