By By Fredie Carmichael/Special to The Star
March 28, 2001
If Clarkdale's baseball team is trying to make a statement, then Tuesday night at home the message came through loud and clear.
The 16-3 Bulldogs are for real.
The Dogs erupted for 12 runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back as they took a authoritative 17-6 conquest over Bay Springs in five innings of play.
Bay Springs went to the plate in the first inning and made a statement of its own with three early runs. Clarkdale (7-1 in Division 7-2A) answered in a big way, using 10 hits that plated 12 Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs' first six batters got base hits to start the inning off and set the tone for the game. Sophomore Brandon Mary banged out the first CHS hit of the night, ripping a double to start things off. Matt Minchew knocked him in moments later with a triple and the Bulldogs were off and running.
Clarkdale then got four consecutive singles from Chris Moffett, Jeffery Stokes, Lance Miles, and Thomas Walters that scored three more runs and the Bulldogs were up 4-3 with no outs registered in the inning.
After a pop out, CHS went on another tear. Andy Thomas drove home Miles with a double and Jake Gray followed with a two-RBI single that scored Walters and Thomas.
When the top of the order came back up for the homestanding Bulldogs, they continued to pour it on.
Moffett and Stokes stroked back-to-back two-baggers that put Clarkdale's eighth, ninth, and tenth runs on the scoreboard and Clarkdale was en route to the run-rule victory.
Mabry, Stokes, Miles, and Moffett led Clarkdale with two hits each, while Thomas took the win on the mound. The Bulldogs return to action this Friday as they hit the road to face Morton.