COLDWATER – Early each baseball season, the Coldwater Cardinals and head coach Randy Spangler always seem to go through a few growing pains as everyone tries to figure out their place on the field. Underclassmen work hard to prove they belong, while upperclassmen work to take the leadership role needed from them if a team is to succeed.
Despite it being very early in the season, if Tuesday night is any indication, the Cardinals may just have things already figured out.
Tuesday night the Cardinals used two clutch efforts to sweep longtime rival Marshall in a two game homestand, winning by scores of 6-4 and 12-8.
Game one was a back-and-forth thriller that saw the two teams trading runs and big hits. Eventually it was Marshall tying things up in the top of the fifth inning, knotting up the score at 4-4.
Coldwater meanwhile had other ideas, quickly retaking the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to a clutch two run RBI single off the bat of Lucas Wischmeyer giving the Cardinals the lead at 6-4. Coldwater would never look back, an 11-4 hitting advantage allowed Coldater to take the 6-4 win.
Senior Brady Massey brought the big bat to game one for Coldwater, smashing a two-run home run in the first inning to give the Cardinals the early lead. Massey finished with two hits and two RBIs to go with a walk and one run scored.
Evan Porter also added a 2 for 4 effort and a run scored while Eddie Pool finished 2 for 3 with a run scored. Massey and Wischmeyer both drove in two runs for the Cardinals.
Owen Tappenden took the win on the mound for Coldwater, throwing two and two-thirds of an inning in relief while striking out five.
Game two saw Marshall build an early advantage, racing out to a 6-1 lead after their first two at-bats. The Cardinals quickly negated that lead and then some, putting up three runs in the bottom of the second inning and five runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead at 9-6. Two more runs from the Cardinals in the fourth and one in the sixth found the team with 12 runs, while a run each in the fourth and fifth made up the rest of Marshall’s scoring, finding the final score of 12-8.
Freshman Dayton Ennis took the win on the mound after throwing four innings in the start. Ennis gave up eight hits and seven runs on four walks and four strikeouts.
Brayden Lackey earned the Save for Coldwater after throwing three innings in relief, allowing three hits and one unearned run with two strikeouts.
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Ennis, Porter, and Massey all had multi-hit games for Coldwater, with each adding a double. Ennis led the team with three RBIs while Drake Thornton added two. Ethan Parker also added a double with three RBIs and a run scored.
With the two-game sweep Coldwater improves to 6-8 on the young season. The Cardinals will be back in action Thursday when they travel to Union City for a Branch County battle.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater baseball sweeps rival Marshall in two game homestand
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