Lakeside junior Gage Golden threw a one-hitter as the Rams downed cross-town conference rival Hot Springs, 10-0, Tuesday night at Lakeside.
Golden gave up a single in the first inning to Hot Springs senior catcher Shawn Lingo, and he did not allow another hit for the remainder of the game. Junior Ethan Bates got things going for the Rams (12-7, 4-2 5A South) as he reached on a triple to deep center, scoring later on a throwing error by the Trojans (3-6, 1-6) to give Lakeside the first score of the day.
Lakeside scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning, giving the Rams the early advantage and a quick 4-0 lead over Hot Springs.
"We wanted to come out and jump on them early. We thought if we got a lead early then we could put it away quick," said Lakeside head coach Leighton Hardin. "Our guys stayed in the game, stayed focused on what we wanted to do, put the ball in play and made them make a few plays. We did a pretty good job of that. Gage pitched well ... We had one little snuff there in the first inning where he had a four pitch walk, but after that it was a real clean game."
Senior Justin Scott and junior Jordan Villas both made their way around the diamond on a throwing error and a few passed balls. Senior Chase Gentry pinch ran for sophomore Ethan Cevela, later scoring on another throwing error by the Trojans for a 4-0 Lakeside lead.
"I thought our pitchers came out; they battled. Both DeAnte (Sanders) and Elias (Parker) threw strikes and competed," said Hot Springs head coach Justin McArthur. "Our defense just didn't back them up today. We played our worst defensive game of the year, and that's not us. We work on building and playing defense more than we do anything else, and up until this point, we've been a good defensive team. It just didn't happen for us tonight."
The Trojans were retired in order in the top of the second inning, and in the bottom of the inning, a bunt single by Scott followed by a throwing error over first base plated Peyton Ballard and Brady Prince for a 6-0 lead.
The Rams added one more in the bottom of the third before a two-RBI triple by Cevela made it 9-0. Cevela crossed the plate for the final run when senior Jesus Minjarez hit a sacrifice fly on the next play. The Rams then kept the Trojans scoreless in the top of the fifth to secure the win.
"Defensively, we played really well," said Hardin. "Ethan (Bates) made a great play there in the last inning. That's kind of what we hang our hat on is pitching well and play defense. Our bats have come alive the last few weeks, so everything's starting to come together with that."
Golden took the win for Lakeside as he pitched five strong innings while striking out five, giving up one hit and walking two.
Sanders started on the mound for Hot Springs and lasted 2 1/3 innings, giving up seven earned runs on six hits while striking out three for the loss. Parker pitched in relief, putting in 1 2/3 innings of work while giving up three earned runs on three hits and two walks. Lingo had the lone hit for the Trojans.
"At the plate, I felt like we put a lot of balls into play, but we just couldn't string two or three hits together and couldn't get runners on base," said McArthur. "We just couldn't square any up and hit the ball hard. I thought Lakeside went out there and really competed. I like the way they go out there; they're strictly business. The kid they had on the mound battled and threw strikes. We've got to give them the credit: they came out here, took care of business today and came out on top."
Cevela went 3-for-3 to lead the Rams with two RBI and two runs scored. Ballard had two hits with one run, and Villas led the team on the base path with two stolen bases.
The Trojans will travel to Little Rock today to face off against the J.A. Fair War Eagles at 4:30 p.m. Lakeside will meet El Dorado on the road Friday.
Sports on 04/11/2019