Mount Pulaski comes up short in sectional baseball loss to Thomas Metcalf

[September 24, 2018] 

The Mount Pulaski Bruins ended their 2018 baseball season on Saturday at the sectional tournament hosted by West Lincoln-Broadwell.

The Bruins lost 7-4 to the Thomas Metcalf Wildcats of Normal.

Mount Pulaski took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Thomas Metcalf tied the score in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Mount Pulaski had a chance to take the lead in the top of the sixth inning with the bases loaded and one out, but the Bruins could not capitalize.

A four-run sixth inning by the Wildcats was the difference-maker in this game.

Mount Pulaski had six hits in the game and Thomas Metcalf had seven hits.

Offensively for Mount Pulaski, Evan Cooper led the way. Cooper was 2-for-4 with 2 stolen bases. Landon Smith had a double and an RBI.

Gavin Smith was 1-for-3 with a run and 2 stolen bases.

Andrew Bailey was 1-for-2 with a run, an RBI and a stolen base.

Colt Selinger was 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Oran Kuhlman had an RBI. Kolin Gibbs scored a run.

Evan Cooper was the starting pitcher for the Bruins. Cooper tossed five innings and allowed three runs on five hits. He struck out seven batters and walked four.

Andrew Bailey got the loss in relief. Bailey threw an inning, giving up four runs on two hits. Only one run was earned. Bailey struck out one batter and walked three.

Mount Pulaski ended their regional championship season with an 11-5 record.

Bruins Head Coach Troy Burgard was very positive following the season-ending loss and looks forward to a bright future for Mount Pulaski baseball.

"I'm very proud of these boys," said Coach Burgard. "The pitcher we saw today has shut down some of the best offenses in the state and we were able to get a lot of traffic on the basepaths against him. We've grown so much since our first game against Maroa-Forsyth, which we lost 15-0 in three innings. We won our third Logan County Championship in a row and our first regional since 2004. Pitching was a huge strength of our team this year and it has everything to do with the work that Assistant Coach Gale Clark does with our pitchers and catchers." Clark incidentally was a coach on the team back in 2004.

Burgard continued, "We didn't have the biggest, strongest, hardest-throwing team, but this team will never back down from any challenge. We beat two of the best pitchers in the area in Clay Aylesworth of Carroll and Wyatt O'Donoghue of Chester East-Lincoln to win our regional. The future of Mount Pulaski baseball is very strong."

[Teena Lowery]