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By Raegan Churi and Hailey Livesay
The Buchholz Bobcats beat the visiting Tallahassee Lincoln Trojans in an extra-inning baseball game, 5-4, Wednesday night.
This was their first matchup this season and both entered ranked first in their respective districts.
First-Inning Intensity
The Trojans (13-11) put a run on the board first, but the Bobcats quickly followed and took the lead with three hits in the first inning.
Cooper Collins and Kai So both had hard hits to left field for Buchholz (16-8). Collins attempted to steal third base, but was tagged out. Lincoln’s first-inning pitching struggles continued when Noah Hayse walked to put runners at first and second. JJ Gardner then hit a three-run homer to give the Bobcats the lead, 3-1.
After a three run homer by JJ Gardner, the Bobcats take the lead going into the second inning.
3-1 Buchholz #ESPNGainesville #BuchholzHS #LincolnHS #Bobcats #Trojans #Homerun #baseball #highschoolsports pic.twitter.com/r8Y7SvHuMQ
— Raegan Churi (@raegan_churi) April 24, 2024
The Trojans’ pitching and defense worked together to end the inning with a diving catch by senior Garrett Harper.
Pitching Perfection
After the first inning, both starting pitchers did not allow any runs until the fifth. TJ Harley had four strikeouts for Lincoln until he was replaced by freshman Chase Fuller in the fifth inning.
Austin Cardozo had six strikeouts for Buchholz until he was replaced by captain Connor Brown in the sixth inning.
TJ Harley, the Lincoln starting pitcher, strikes out all three batters for a 1-2-3 inning.
3-1 Buchholz#ESPNGainesville #BuchholzHS #LincolnHS #baseball #strikeout #highschoolsports pic.twitter.com/zcOWKJVt4J
— Raegan Churi (@raegan_churi) April 24, 2024
Runs Return
Anthony Wilkie started the fifth inning with a line drive to left field. Off a Trojan fielding error, Blake Brewer reached first base and Wilkie advanced to second. Lincoln made a play on Hudson Sapp’s bunt to nab Wilkie at third. Collins was hit by pitch to load the bases. So then hit a run-scoring single for a 4-2 Buchholz lead.
A 1-2-3 double play by the Trojans ended the inning.
Tied Game
The score remained 4-2 until the top of the seventh inning. Buchholz’s inconsistent pitching in the seventh started with two walks until Brown was replaced by Wyatt Clarke. After the pitching change, Harper found the outfield gap with a single to load the bases. Lucas Cannady then tied the game at 4-all with a two-run double.
Lucas Cannady hits a strong ball to centerfield with the bases loaded brining in two runs and tying up the score in the seventh inning.
4-4 #ESPNGainesville #BuchholzHS #LincolnHS #baseball #highschoolsports #basesloaded #rbi pic.twitter.com/pUH201DNEz
— Raegan Churi (@raegan_churi) April 25, 2024
Clarke finished the inning strong with three strikeouts in a row to keep the score at 4-4. Unable to score any runs in the home seventh inning, the Bobcats sent the ballgame to extra innings.
Eight Is Enough
The Bobcats took action in the eighth. Aiden Kastensmidt and Brown both singled to set the stage for Brewer, whose RBI hit walked-off the win.
Blake Brewer singles with the bases loaded bringing in an RBI and ending the ballgame in the eighth inning.
5-4 Buchholz #ESPNGainesville #BuchholzHS #LincolnHS #baseball #highschoolsports #extrainnings #rbi @ESPNGainesville pic.twitter.com/ckrJ38iOdi
— Raegan Churi (@raegan_churi) April 25, 2024
Up Next
The Bobcats take on the Jacksonville Mandarin Mustangs (7-16) on Senior Night at 7 p.m. Thursday. They then host St. Augustine Nease (10-12) at 7 p.m. Monday in the 6A-District 3 quarterfinal.
The Trojans open 5A-District 2 play against the Tallahassee Rickards Raiders (9-15) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home.
