PEARCY -- With the score tied 8-8 in the top of the fifth inning, Lakeside junior Ethan Bates hit a two-run home run to deep right center field to hold off the Lake Hamilton Wolves Tuesday night at Lake Hamilton field as the Rams took home the 5A South conference win, 11-8.
Starting out with a two-run homer in the top of the second by senior Jesus Minjarez, Lakeside (14-7, 6-2) earned an early 2-0 edge.
Lake Hamilton's offense came to life as the Wolves responded with five runs of their own in the bottom half of the second. Sophomore Weston Dobyns doubled on a line drive to right field, plating sophomore JT Bardwell to give Lake Hamilton (5-11, 2-7) their first run of the night.
Dobyns then tied things up following a throwing error on a pickoff attempt by the Rams. On the next play, junior Garrett Lynch reached on a single, sending senior Jace Robbins home and pushing the Wolves ahead, 3-2.
"Lake Hamilton definitely came out ready to play. Mentally, I don't know that we were ready the first three innings," said Lakeside head coach Leighton Hardin. "We did some things defensively and on the mound that we normally don't do. We had some tough circumstances going on, and we finally came out of it in the fourth inning and became who we are and who we've become as a team by shutting them down and putting up four zeroes in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh inning."
As Lake Hamilton continued to stretch the gap over the visiting Rams, junior Brayden Clark got an RBI on a walk as classmate Braden Qualls crossed home plate to mark the score, 5-2, in Lake Hamilton's favor.
In the top of the third, Lakeside battled back to regain the lead. Bates led things off with a double to right field and scored on back-to-back passed balls cutting the deficit down to two.
Lakeside junior Jordan Villas responded with a single to left scoring senior Justin Scott and set the stage for Chase Gentry to come in and tie the game as the senior reached on a single to score Villas and evened the score, 5-5.
Minjarez came up big with a single in the top of the third, pushing Harris and senior Ryan Robinson past the plate as the Rams regained control and earned their second lead of the night, 7-5. Lake Hamilton refused to bow down as the Wolves tied things up thanks to a double by Qualls, ultimately regaining the lead in the bottom of the third after Clark was walked with the bases loaded to mark the score, 8-7.
In the top of the fourth, Lakeside had back-to-back singles by Villas, Robinson and Gentry. While junior Ethan Cevela was at bat, Villas scored on a passed ball that evened the score.
After Robinson retired the Wolves in order in the bottom of the fourth, Lakeside took the lead on Bates' two-run home run in the top of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth, sophomore Peyton Ballard gave the Rams a little run insurance with a deep double to left field to send Minjarez home for their final run of the game.
"Ryan came in and did a great job. He didn't have his best stuff to start off with, but after that first inning, he came in and pretty much shut the door against those guys. Defensively, we made some great plays. That last inning, Brady (Prince) made a great play at third for the second out, and Ethan made an amazing diving play up the middle and throws a guy out to end the game. We finally worked out of it and came back to the team we are, we showed it there to finish the game in the seventh inning."
Lake Hamilton coach Mac Hurley was pleased with his team's pitching corps.
"I thought it was just a good cross-town rivalry today," he said. "We played well, but we gave up two big hits, and it cost us four runs. They hit the ball really well and basically they hit better than we did tonight. I thought my pitchers pitched well; we missed a few spots with the two home runs, but we battled back and played well all night.
"Hats off to both teams, they just had more hits than we did. I thought the lineup we had out there tonight was pretty good ... struggled in a couple spots, but as long as they're playing hard, that's all we ask of them."
Lakeside had 13 hits, and Lake Hamilton had nine. Minjarez and Villas led the Rams with three hits apiece. Minjarez had four RBI and two runs scored. Bates, Robinson and Gentry each had two hits. Bates and Gentry scored two runs each.
Qualls led the Wolves with three hits. Harris and Lynch each had two hits. Qualls and Clark each collected two RBI, and Qualls and Robbins scored two runs apiece.
Gage Golden started on the mound for Lakeside. The junior pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up three hits and five runs.
Villas pitched two outs in the second, giving up two hits and a walk. Robinson came in clutch for the Rams and picked up the win as the senior put in five innings of work while striking out three on three hits, giving up three runs and three walks.
Clark started on the mound for the Wolves, lasting 2 1/3 innings. The junior struck out three batters and gave up five runs on three walks and four hits. Harris picked up the loss for Wolves, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks while fanning five in 4 2/3 innings in relief.
The Rams will host the Benton Panthers today at 5 p.m. and Lake Hamilton will host White Hall.
Sports on 04/18/2019