Cougars take two of three in busy week
The Central McLean Cougars closed out the week by winning two of three games, defeating Post 144 and the Bismarck Barons while dropping a high-scoring contest to Thee Bears 18U before heading into the holiday break.
Central McLean opened the stretch with a 7-6 victory over Post 144 on Wednesday, July 1, using timely hitting to build an early advantage before holding off a late rally.
After a scoreless first inning, the Cougars plated two runs in the second, added two more in the third and fourth innings, and scored once in the fifth to take a 7-1 lead. Post 144 mounted a comeback with three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth, but Central McLean’s pitching staff held the Knights scoreless in the seventh to preserve the win.
Dawson Smith led the offense by going 2-for-3, while Cooper Kittler finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. Jackson Blotter and Landon Saueressig each added a hit, and Aiden Hanson drove in a run. Jayden Troyna contributed an RBI while drawing two walks, Beckett Vaagene knocked in two runs despite going hitless, and Jaxon Wagner also drove in a run.
Saueressig started on the mound, allowing four earned runs over 4 1/3 innings while striking out two. Smith worked the final 2 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs while recording two strikeouts to earn the save.
The Cougars traveled to face Thee Bears 18U on Thursday, July 2, and were unable to overcome a late offensive explosion in a 19-9 defeat.
Central McLean built an early 3-0 lead after scoring once in the first inning and twice in the second. Thee Bears answered with two runs in the second and four more in the third before both teams traded runs over the next two innings. The Cougars entered the sixth trailing 8-6 before scoring three times to pull within one run, but Thee Bears erupted for 11 runs in the bottom of the inning to end the contest.