By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills baseball team plowed over all its competition this week. The Bears swept a doubleheader with Mills by a combined 36-1 on Tuesday, then hammered Pulaski Academy 18-8 on Thursday in a non-conference game.
“I thought against PA we really came out ready to play,” Sylvan Hills coach Denny Tipton said. “I was really pleased with our mindset approaching the game. It wasn’t a conference game, but we came out understanding that it’s preparation for conference and I thought we were really focused.”
Sylvan Hills beat the Comets 15-1 and 21-0 in a 5A Southeast doubleheader. Conner Eller got the win on the mound in game one while Dillon Boone got the win in game two.
On Thursday the Bears jumped ahead 4-0 in the first inning and were never in trouble. Lance Hunter started and got the win, and also got the main offensive highlight of the game.
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Hunter sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in left field for a two-run home run that made it 4-0.
Dalton Freeling had walked and scored on a passed ball after reaching third on Boone’s double to right. David Carrasquillo was then hit by a pitch and Conner Eller sacrificed to right field to score Boone from third, setting up Hunter’s bomb.
The Bears added one more in the second and the Bruins scored in the top of the third to make it 4-1. Sylvan Hills put it out of reach with nine runs in the third inning, with lots of help from poor fielding and bad pitch control by Pulaski Academy.
Hunter led off the third and reached when his pop fly to shallow center was dropped. The pop up was so high, Hunter was almost to second base by the time the ball hit the ground. J.D. Miller then struck out, but reached first base when PA catcher Hunter Freeman couldn’t handle the curve ball in the dirt. It also allowed Hunter to reach third, setting up an RBI sacrifice fly by Chase Imoff.
T.J. Burrows hit a single to shallow right field to score Miller from second. He tried to stretch it to a double but the throw beat him by several feet. PA shortstop Lawson Vasser, however, dropped the ball while applying the tag. Back at the top of the order, Brandon Baoni singled to left field and Freeling walked to load the bases. Boone then got a two-RBI single to left field and Carrasquillo walked again to load the bases. Freeling, Boone and Carrasquillo all scored on wild pitches while Eller and Hunter walked to put two more on base for Miller. Miller hit a deep fly to centerfield to score Eller for the ninth and final run of the inning and give the Bears a commanding 13-1 lead.
The Bruins rallied for seven runs in the fourth inning. Three walks and two errors contributed to the PA rally.
The win lifts the Bears to 14-5 on the season and they stand 6-0 in conference play. There is still a four-way tie for first place in the 5A Southeast. Monticello, Watson Chapel and White Hall are also 6-0. Crossett, North Pulaski, Mills and Helena are all still winless in league play.
Next week, Sylvan Hills faces Watson Chapel and Monticello takes on White Hall.
