By KELLY FENTON
Leader sports editor
The senior Cabot American Legion team scored early, then scored late and ran off with an 11-3 win over Sylvan Hills Optimist at Burns Park on Thursday evening.
Colin Fuller struck out nine over five innings to pick up the win, pitching out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the second.
The Cabot bats were potent enough on Thursday to overcome a series of baserunning errors. Cabot lost four runners on the base paths, though one resulted in a steal of home.
Sam Bates led the way in Cabot’s 13-hit attack, belting a pair of doubles, driving in two runs and going 3 of 3. Shayne Burgan drove in two runs and went 2 of 4, and Jeremy Wilson added two RBI with a pair of singles.
Cabot jumped on Sylvan Hills early, getting RBI singles from Burgan and Matthew Turner and an RBI groundout from Ben Wainright to take a 4-0 lead.
Sylvan Hills posted two in the second and narrowed the gap to 5-3 on Nathan Eller’s single in the third.
Fuller was the beneficiary of some good defense early. When Ross Bogart tried to score on a wild pitch in the third, catcher Ben Wainright grabbed the ball off the carom and dove to make the tag at the plate. Wainright threw out Justin Treece trying to steal in the fourth, and second baseman Jeffrey Cooper and first baseman Matthew Turner both made nice plays to retire Cody Cormier in the inning.
Bogart, on in relief in the first inning, pitched solidly through the fourth to keep the Bruins close. But Cabot re-awakened in the fifth on a double by Bates and singles by Turner, Cooper and Wilson to make it 8-3.
Treece came on in relief, and was greeted with Matt Evans’ home run to left-center into a stiff wind. Burgan, Drew Burks and Bates followed with doubles to extend the lead to 11-3.
The Bruins finished with eight hits — two each by Matt Rugger, Eller and Blain Sims.
Fuller allowed six hits and three earned runs over five innings, walking three and hitting two. C.J. Jacoby came on in the sixth to close it out.
Cabot hosted Morrilton last night.
