Bearden hits bumps at tournament, wins league games
A long high school baseball season always has a few bumps in the road and Bearden High School encountered a couple of those bumps recently.
The Bulldogs split four games at last weekend’s Ooltewah Invitational. Bearden dropped a 10-0 decision to Vestavia Hills Friday night and fell to Lincoln County 4-2 despite out hitting the Falcons. The Bulldogs did manage to notch a 10-0 victory over Chattanooga Central and outlast North Penn (Pa.) 13-8 in a thriller.
Against North Penn, Bearden (10-2 overall, 3-0 in District 4-AAA) fell behind 7-2 in the fourth inning but came storming back to nab a victory thanks to an eight-run sixth inning. In that contest, the Bulldogs got four hits from Bryson Ford and two hits David Beam.
Ford went 4-for-5 with three runs. He also knocked in a pair for the Bulldogs, who pounded out 11 hits in the contest. Beam went 2-for-5 and scored three times and drove in another run. Brandon Trammell doubled and scored. He also knocked in a run.
Bearden’s Brady Duncan delivered the big offensive punch for his team in the sixth as he had a three-run double.
Paul Underwood had a hit and an RBI while picking up the win in relief. Shawn DeAngelo tossed a scoreless inning to earn a save.
In the contest against Lincoln County, the Bulldogs got two hits each from Ford and Clark Poynter. Bearden outhit the Falcons 7-6 but couldn’t take advantage of some shaky defense from the Falcons, who committed four errors.
In its other loss against Vestavia, a top team from Alabama, Bearden couldn’t solve pitcher Brett Jones. He threw a complete-game three-hit shutout. He walked one and struck out seven.
Bearden could muster just three singles off of Jones. Trammell, Tyson Beach and Prater Knight provided the offense for the Bulldogs.
BHS coach John Rice said that he knew that his squad would face competition in Ooltewah.
“We’ve played and won some tough games and we certainly haven’t made things easy on ourselves,” Rice said. “We’ve played a tough schedule and we saw a top team from Pennsylvania and the No. 1 team in Alabama.”
The Bulldogs split those games and also picked up a 10-0 victory over Chattanooga Central on Saturday.
DeAngelo tossed a one-hit shutout and had five strikeouts.
Bearden also got plenty of offense. Duncan hit a home run. Ford had three hits, including a triple and a double. He stole a base and had an RBI.
Beach had a pair of hits and drove in a run. He scored another for Bearden, which put the game away early. The Bulldogs scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back.
Before heading south, Bearden won its three district games last week. The Bulldogs outlasted Heritage 2-1 in a league tilt at home on Wednesday, March 23.
Trammell went 3-for-3 with a double to spark BHS’s offensive attack. He started on the mound and hurled three innings but didn’t figure in the decision. Thomas Wilson pitched four innings of scoreless relief and picked up the win.
Bearden also beat Farragut 3-1 on March 22 and opened league play with an 11-1 victory over Lenoir City on Monday, April 21.
Against the Admirals, Ford was 2-for-3 with a run.
David Beam picked up the win against Farragut.
Against the Panthers, the Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead before scoring four runs in both the fourth and fifth innings.
Trammell went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and two stolen bases. He scored twice and knocked in six runs. Ford was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs and Beam added a hit, two runs and an RBI.
On the mound, Duncan surrendered four hits, an unearned run and two walks. He fanned six Panthers.
Rice said he was pleased with his squad’s three league wins.
“We had some big performances and any time you go 3-0 in a week in District 4-AAA, that’s good.
“Our bodies are a little bit tired after that but we’ve really had some people step up for us. David, Bryson and Brady got some big hits for us. Paul, Thomas and David all threw well for us. Our guys hit the ball hard.”
