College Park Baseball Stays Hot On Offense In Win Over Oak Ridge

CONROE, TX — College Park continued its torrid offensive pace from the past week as the Cavaliers slugged their way to a 13-7 road win over Oak Ridge in District 13-6A baseball action Tuesday.

College Park (17-12-1, 9-5) pulled even with Oak Ridge (16-16, 9-5) and The Woodlands for second place in 13-6A with just one regular season game remaining.

The Cavaliers exploded for 15 hits and pulled away with a combined 10 runs over the fourth and fifth innings. The runs have come in bunches for College Park lately as the Cavaliers have outscored their opponents 37-12 in their last three games, which included victories over Willis and Conroe.

“To be honest, we haven’t hit like that all year,” College Park head coach Mike Faherty said. “The last three games we’ve scored 37 runs because we continue to stay after it in practice, believe in each other and pass the baton. It’s nice to hit the ball around a little bit.”

Eight of College Park’s nine starters notched at least one hit, and 9-hole hitter Holden Rook sparked the Cavaliers’ big innings with leadoff hits in both, a triple in the fourth and a single in the fifth. Rook went 4 for 4 with two stolen bases, two runs and two RBIs.

“That kid’s had some ups and some downs this year, and he’s continued to stay after it; his hard work is finally starting to show off,” Faherty said. “He’s [in the ninth spot] for a reason. He’s another leadoff guy. If we can get him to do that, we’re going to win a lot of games because he’s got wheels. We steal with him; we hit-and-run with him, and he gives the guys behind him a lot of confidence.”

College Park took the lead for good in the third inning. Harrison Helton walked with two outs, and Carson Nolen doubled to get both runners in scoring position. Helton scored on a wild pitch, and Cal Garcia hit an RBI single to give the Cavaliers a 3-2 lead.

In the fourth, Rook scored on a wild pitch following his triple, and leadoff hitter Haasan Malik drew a walk to get the rally going again. Two batters later, Hank Hudson smacked a run-scoring double down the left-field line to make it 5-2. Hudson later scored on a sacrifice fly from Helton, and Carter Gorling walked and later scored with the help of two Oak Ridge errors.

The War Eagles cut into the lead in the bottom of the frame as Michael Lopez, who hit a solo home run in the second, drew a walk, and Conner Bennett singled to left. Both came around to score on wild pitches to cut the deficit to 7-4.

Rook started another big rally in the fifth, though, to help College Park put the game away with a six-run frame. Edgard Bermudez hit a two-run single to score Rook and Malik, and Hudson’s single to right plated Bermudez to extend the lead to 10-4. Helton later added an RBI single, and Rook capped the surge with a two-run single to right to make it 13-4.

In the bottom of the fifth, Oak Ridge scored three unearned runs with the help of a pair of College Park errors, but Dylan Brunner came in and pitched the final 1 ⅓ innings, striking out three and allowing just one hit to secure the win.

Malik went 2 for 3 with a pair of walks, two stolen bases and scored three runs. Hudson went 3 for 5 with a pair of RBIs and tossed 2 ⅓ innings, allowing two runs on three hits as College Park’s starting pitcher.

Aden Lucas had a double and two walks and proved to be the only answer Oak Ridge had for College Park on the mound. Lucas pitched the final 2 ⅔ innings, striking out five and allowing just two hits while walking none.

The War Eagles, who play at district leader Grand Oaks at 4 p.m. Friday, saw their title hopes disappear as they are now two games behind the Grizzlies. The Cavaliers will wrap up the regular season on the road against The Woodlands at 4 p.m. Friday. Both College Park and Oak Ridge have clinched playoff spots.

“We’ve got to stop taking stuff for granted,” Oak Ridge coach JJ Peirce said. “We’ll win a few, and then we start getting lax in practice. Moving forward in the playoffs, everyone is going to be good, and it’s going to be tougher than what we’re playing in district. We’ve got to get that out of our head and start playing our game, which obviously we didn’t do tonight.”