Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Curley Wolves Defeat Fountain Lake, Drop Game To ASMS

Prescott's Curley Wolf baseball team split a pair of games with Fountain Lake and the Arkansas School of Math and Science last week.

The Wolves downed the Cobras 17-11, but lost a heartbreaker 12-11 to ASMS.

On Monday, March 13, the Wolves made the trip to Hot Springs to tangle with Fountain Lake.

Prescott wasted no time in getting on the board as the Wolves put two on in the first.

Keon Sockwell walked, with Gabe Morman reaching on an error. Sockwell score on the error, with Morman coming home on the Cobras second error of the inning.

Fountain Lake was held in check in the first and second frames, while Prescott added three more in the top of the second.

Decolen Prater singled and moved to second when Ben Ratcliff was hit by a pitch. Ronnie Nolen was also hit, loading the bases.

A fielder's choice sent Prater home, with Ratcliff getting nailed at third.

The bases were loaded again when Josh Bullock walked. Morman reached on a fielder's choice with Nolen scoring, followed by Sockwell, who went home on a throwing error.

The third was a different story as the Cobra offense came alive, striking for seven runs.

Prescott gave up four hits, hit one batter, made an error and had two score when a ball was dropped in the outfield.

The Cobras added one more in the bottom of the fourth on a base hit and throwing error.

This put the Cobras up 8-5 before the Wolves rallied.

The rally began in the fifth when Prescott sent two around the base path.

Morman walked, scoring on Matt Yates' single. Chris Glass and Prater walked to load the bases, with Yates scoring on an error.

Trailing 8-7, the Wolves exploded in the top of the sixth for 10 runs.

Bullock opened with a single, scoring when Morman singles. John Fulmer singled with Yates walking to load the bases.

Glass reached on an error, allowing Morman to go home. Prater walked Fulmer in, while Yates scored on a Ratcliff single.

Nolen brought two in with a single, while Sockwell tripled to score Ratcliff and Nolen.

In his second at-bat of the inning Bullock doubled, scoring Sockwell, and scored himself when Morman singled.

Now Prescott led 17-8, with Fountain Lake coming to bat in the sixth.

The Cobras scored three times, on an error, two singles and a fielder's choice.

Neither team scored in the seventh.

Bullock got the win going the distance. He allowed 11 runs on 10 hits, walked three and fanned five.

Nolen scored twice and drove two in. Sockwell circled the bases three times and had three RBIs.

Bullock had two hits and a pair of RBIs, while Morman recorded two hits, scored three times and drove four in.

Fulmer had two hits, while Yates and Prater scored twice each.

"It was a good start to conference play," Coach Steve Crow said. "It was a good comeback win and the second game in a row we tended to go to sleep after a 5-0 lead and fell behind 8-5.

"You never know how a young team will react to situations. This should be a confidence builder, knowing we can get behind and still come back to win."

Crow said Bullock didn't have his best stuff in the game, but pitched well enough to get the win.

"We continue to be one of the best hitting teams we've had in recent years," he said. "The sixth inning was a huge one for us (10 runs, eight hits, 15 batters)."

However, the downside is the defense. Crow said the team is having problems in this area, but has been able to outscore its opponents.

Outscoring the opposition didn't happen Friday, March 17, when the Wolves hosted the School for Math and Science.

The Dolphins clipped Prescott 12-11, scoring two in the top of the seventh to steal the win.

Once again, though, the Wolves scored first, sending three around the bases in the bottom of the first.

Sockwell opened with a double, scoring when Bullock took one out of the park for his second homer of the year.

Morman walked, scoring on a Fulmer single.

Prescott added another run in the second, with Mark Jones reaching on an error. Bullock singled to drive Jones in.

The Dolphins cut the lead in half in the top of the third with a pair of runs.

The Dolphins scored on a walk, error and double.

The fourth saw the Dolphins take a 5-4 lead scoring three times.

The scores came on an error, single, a interference call against the catcher with the bases loaded and two singles.

This didn't set well with the Wolves as the team scored seven times in the bottom of the fourth.

Sockwell got things started with a single, scoring on a Bullock double. Morman's double brought Bullock in, with Morman going home on a Fulmer double.

Yates reached on an error, with Glass walking to load the bases. Prater walked in a run, with Jones getting an RBI on a ground out.

Nolen doubled in Glass and Prater to end the assault.

However, this was all the scoring Prescott would do for the remainder of the game.

The Dolphins scored five runs in the top of the sixth to make it an 11-10 game.

The scoring came on three errors and three singles.

With Prescott's offense dormant, the Dolphins took the lead in the seventh with two more. These runs came on a double, single and error.

Ryan Burdue was the losing hurler, though Prater had gotten the start.

Sockwell added a pair of hits and two runs to his stats, while Bullock had three hits, two runs and four RBIs.

Morman scored twice, with Nolen driving two in. Fulmer had two hits and two RBIs.

"It was a very disappointing loss," Crow said. "I can't think of a more embarrassing loss in the past 10 years.

"This was the third game in a row we tried to sit on a lead. We jumped out 4-0 , then fell behind 5-4."

He said the Wolves did have another good comeback in the fourth, scoring seven runs on five hits with 11 players batting, but did nothing for the rest of the game.

From the fifth through seventh innings, only two Prescott players reached, and neither from a hit. One reached on an error, with the other getting walked.

Crow said the two sophomore pitchers pitched well enough to win and the team continues to hit well enough to win.

"Our poor fielding finally caught up with us," he said. "We're six outs away from going 2-0 in the conference and blow it."

The Dolphins scores seven runs in the last three innings helped by four Prescott errors.

"You have to do well in all three phases (hitting, pitching and fielding) to win," he said, "and we're only doing two out of three.

"We've developed into a Jekyll and Hyde type team."

Crow said when the team that played Blevins, Ouachita and Lockesburg (the second time) shows up the Wolves are a pretty good club.

But when the team that played Nevada, Lockesburg (the first time) and ASMS shows up the Wolves have problems.

"We must develop a killer instinct, the ability to finish off a team when up 11-5," he said. "But when you commit seven errors, you don't deserve to win."

The Wolves are 4-5 overall and 1-1 in league play.