By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills baseball team ran roughshod over CAC on Thursday, hammering the hosting Mustangs 19-0 in the three-inning, mercy rule encounter. The Bears picked up 13 base hits and seven walks to go with four CAC errors in the nonconference blowout in North Little Rock.
Nick Fakouri and Caleb McMunn each had four RBIs while River Hunt added three to lead the way offensively. Sylvan Hills scored six runs in the first inning, five in the second and eight more in the third.
SH pitcher Cameron Flippo gave up just three hits for the win.
Michael Coven got offensive onslaught going right away by driving a full-count pitch to right field for a leadoff single. Zach Douglass flew out to center, but Fakouri walked and Ryan Lumpkin took one for the team to load the bases.
Hunt then walked for the first RBI of the game. Chaz Poppy followed that with a two-RBI double to left. McMunn hit an RBI single that scored Hunt, and an error in center field also allowed Poppy to score on the play.
McMunn then scored on a sacrifice grounder by Kyle Clayton for the 6-0 SH lead.
CAC’s best chance to score came early. Flippo walked the first two batters he faced, but then got a double-play ball to second and a weak grounder to first to get out of the jam.
Coven started the second inning just like the first, with a leadoff single. Douglass then grounded back to the pitcher, but an error left everyone safe. Fakouri, Lumpkin and Huntthen hit consecutive singles for a 9-0 lead.
After a fly out by Poppy, CAC (13-7) failed to get out of the inning when another comebacker to the mound was mishandled, resulting in two unearned runs that made it 11-0.
The Mustangs put two on with two outs in the second, but Flippo came through with his only strikeout of the game to end the threat.
The Bears (23-3, 10-0) then opened the third inning with two walks, a single and a bases-clearing double by Fakouri that made it 14-0. After a groundout by Lumpkin, Hunt and Poppy walked, and Hunt scored on an error in center field off McMunn’s bat. Clayton and Spencer Zilkey then hit RBI singles. Coven drove in a run with a sacrifice grounder and Douglass singled to left field to drive in the final run of the game.
Coven went 3 for 4. Fakouri went 2 for 2 with two walks. Clayton went 2 for 4 with a pair of RBIs.
Sylvan Hills got back to conference play with a home game against Maumelle on Tuesday, and will host Little Rock Central in a nonconference game on Thursday. Look for details of those games in Saturday’s Leader.
