Sulphur's district title winning Bulldogs show off their trophy after disposing of Marietta twice last Thursday to advance onto the regionals this week. Pictured are, from left, front row--Caleb Williamson, Kelby Luna, Lance Wallace, Chance Wallace, Mark Wisdom and Jessica Reynolds; back row, from left--Coach Darren Henson, Dillon Dilbeck, William Row, Tal Wayne Scaff, Robert Thomas, Jacob Douglas, Austin McKenzie, Thomas Parks, Coach Earl Wilson, Nathan Scaggs and Aaron O'Dell.

Sulphur's Mark Wisdom, below, is safe on this play at third base on run-down in the Bulldog's district win over Marietta last Thursday.

 

Dogs Make Easy Work Of Marietta

by Brad Clay
Times-Democrat staff

 

The Sulphur Bulldogs are just three wins away from a trip to the state tournament and one win away from tying the school record for most wins in a regular season with twenty eight. On April 21the Bulldogs run-ruled Dickson and Pauls Valley to wrap up the regular season before facing Marietta in districts last Thursday. In the district games at Bill Lannom Field in Sulphur the Bulldogs sweep past the Indians in two run- rule victories to claim the district championship.

On April 21 the Bulldogs squared off against Dickson in the first of two games on the day. Sulphur has owned the Comets all season and this game was no exception. The Sulphur bats were hot from the beginning. The Dogs scored eleven runs in the first inning to jump out to a commanding lead. The early offensive explosion seemed to suck the life out of the Comets bats. The Bulldogs added two more runs to claim a 13-0 victory through five innings. Nathan Scaggs went 3-3 in the win while Jacob Douglas and Mark Wisdom finished 2-3. Robert Thomas went 2-3 from his lead off spot as well. Caleb Williamson pitched yet another outstanding game to claim the win on the mound.

In the second game of the day, the Bulldogs faced Pauls Valley. It seemed early on that the Panthers might make it a game. Sulphur took a 2-1 lead going into the third inning. The Dogs bats came to life and scored four runs in the in the third to grab a 6-1 advantage. Pauls Valley answered with two more runs but the Bulldogs offense was just getting warmed up. The offense exploded for five more runs to claim an 11-3 run rule win. Nathan Scaggs went 3-3 and 6-6 on the day to lead the way for the Dogs. Thomas Parks picked up the win from the mound.

Last Thursday the Dogs begin their quest to reach the state tournament. However, the Dogs are going to have to try and reach that goal without starter Kelby Luna who fractured his hand diving for a ball in practice. Districts were held at Bill Lannom Field against the Marietta Indians. In the first game of the day the Bulldogs started out a little sluggish from the plate. They took a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning. That's when they blew the game wide open with a six run inning. The big hit of the inning was an RBI double by Nathan Scaggs. Sulphur managed one more run in the sixth inning to claim an 8-1 victory. Jacob Douglas had an outstanding day on the mound. He gave up one earned run, no walks, and struck out twelve Marietta batters in the win. Thomas Parks went 2-3 at the plate while Sulphur base runners swiped five bases on the day.

In the second game of the double header the Bulldogs came out swinging early. They smashed out ten runs in the top half of the first inning. They scored two more runs in the third to claim the district championship. The Bulldogs pounded out fifteen hits in the game. Robert Thomas scored twice and went 2-4 from the plate. Jacob Douglas went 3-4 with a double and scored three runs. Caleb Williamson also managed to go 3-4 at the plate with a home run. Lance Wallace picked up the win to improve his record to 7-1 on the year.

Head coach Darren Henson had this to say following the weeks games. "I thought we did really well. We had some big innings, but we have to get better this week at being more consistent offensively. We can't let pitchers get us three up three down. We can't let pitchers throw eight or nine pitches in an inning. We had two many quick innings. In districts against Marietta we only had two big innings. Defensively and pitching was par, everything was good. However, we have to score consistently and not be on cruise control. We need to build on our leads. We stranded a lot of runners and swung at some bad pitches. With regional's coming up we need to come out and set the tone in the first game. We need to win it and the next game and put ourselves in the driver sit. We need to make it that someone is going to have to beat us twice. We have good pitching depth that is going to help us on this run. We fill good about that."

Sulphur will be hosting the Regional Tournament at Bill Lannom Field this Thursday. Besides Sulphur, Tishomingo, and Hartshorne will be making up the field in this tournament. The first pitch will be at 1:30 p.m. Come out and support the Dogs!