By John Loop
Sports Writer
Facing Denton Ryan, a team that has yet to pick up a district win this season, the Coppell Cowboys (17-5, 6-3 in district) showed that they never let up, no matter the opponent.
The 11-2 smattering of the Raiders (6-15, 0-9 in district) was a bounce-back win, coming on the heels of a loss on Tuesday in extra innings, 1-0 against Flower Mound Marcus.
Senior starting pitcher Davis Oliver pitched 5 strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out nine.
“I just went and did my job,” Oliver said. “The bats got going and that helped motivate me to keep doing what I was doing on the mound.”
Senior first baseman Jackson Cramer, who went 1-for-2, with two walks, provided the majority of the offense for the Cowboys, blowing the game open with a three-run triple in the bottom of the first inning.
Coppell trailed going into the home half of the first inning after a double from senior first baseman Kraig Behrens plated junior shortstop Mitchell Bridges to take a 1-0 lead. This would prove to be the Raiders’ only lead of the night.
The Raider starter, sophomore Ryan Burks, induced two straight ground balls to the first two Coppell hitters of the night, senior outfielders Trevor Inman and Jeremy Mortenson, but plunked senior third baseman Tyler Jones to begin the run.
Burks loaded the bases with three consecutive walks. The last, senior catcher Matt Delaney, drove in the first run of the game for Coppell.
Cramer then popped the ball up in the gap between the Raiders’ left fielder and center fielder. Neither could come up with the catch, and the first baseman used his motor to make it to third.
“When I saw that the centerfielder did not make the play, I shifted into gear and trudged into third,” Cramer said.
Cramer’s three-bagger plated three runs, and gave the Cowboys a 4-1 lead after an inning of play.
The triple seemed to haunt Burks for the rest of his time on the mound. The sophomore’s command never seemed to resurface after Cramer smacked the seams off of the ball.
The four runs scored were four of six unanswered runs that bled into the fourth inning. That was when Ryan head coach Bret Warnack decided to make a change, as Burks had thrown 81 pitches through three complete innings of work (He did not retire a batter in the fourth).
Warnack opted to put Behrens on the mound, but the senior did not fare much better, giving up the final five Coppell runs to tally the final score 11-2.
Oliver got the win, his third of the year, by throwing just 78 pitches, while senior Jeremy Mortenson picked up the save thanks to a 14-pitch sixth inning and an even shorter seventh.
When the Cowboys face L.D. Bell tomorrow, head coach Kendall Clark will have his guys in the right mindset for the playoffs.
“Once we use our other three starters tomorrow, we will have used all six of our guys this week,” Clark said. “It is good to get everyone in the game to ‘sharpen them up’. With playoffs just three weeks away, we need to get ready to compete.”
The Cowboys are now in sole possession of second place in District 5-5A, after Flower Mound took down Marcus, 6-1.
