By James Howell, Jr.
For the Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — The Greenfield-Central Cougars were stuck in a back-and-forth battle with Hoosier Heritage Conference foe Delta on Wednesday night through three and a half innings at Molinder Field.
Things quickly shifted in the fourth inning for both teams, though.
Down 7-5, the Cougars (7-1, 4-0 HHC) pushed 14 runs across the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning to propel themselves to a 19-8 victory. It completed their sweep of the Eagles after Tuesday night’s win on the road.
The Cougars lit the scoreboard up thanks to a big hit from third baseman Austin Oden into right field. Oden’s power shot landed him on second base and teammates Grant Shepherd and Kalob Martin across the plate to give the team an early lead.
After the offense provided some support in the bottom of the first, Conner Sims returned to the mound in the top of the second and sat down the Eagles in order with three straight strikeouts.
Through two innings, Sims mowed down four Eagles on strikes and needed just 24 pitches to do so.
In the top of the third, the Eagles got back into the game in a big way. After a pair of walks, the Eagles tied the game on a sacrifice fly and a throwing error.
With two outs on the board in the inning, the Eagles took the lead away with a two-run home run to left-center field by Delta’s Ben Morris.
The Eagles lead did not last long as the Cougars took it right back in the bottom of the third with another RBI from Oden, who eventually crossed the plate himself on a balk.
The Cougars took a 5-4 lead into the fourth inning.
On the third pitch of the fourth inning, the Eagles tied the game, again, with a home run to right center by Cooper Roach.
After recording one out and walking a batter following the home run, Sims was relieved by Andrew Zellers. Sims finished the game with five strikeouts, four walks, and five earned runs on 59 pitches in 3.1 innings.
The Eagles drove in two more runs in the fourth to put pressure back on the bats of the Cougars. In the inning, however, the Cougars did not need to use their bats much to regain the lead.
A trio of Eagles pitchers lost hold of the strike zone in the inning and walked four runs home for the Cougars. Zellers then drove in two runs on a single to cushion the lead for himself on the mound.
Grant Shepherd followed up with an RBI single before Kalob Martin delivered the highlight moment of the game. Martin drilled a grand slam to left center to give the Cougars their 12th run of the game.
Zellers then put two more on the board to round out the impressive 14-run inning.
Delta’s Morris lifted a second home run out of the park in the top of the fifth, but the team was unable to extend the game following the homer.
“We put together a great inning there,” Cougars head coach Mark Vail said. “They helped us a bit by putting us on base, but we had to show patience to get there. Then when guys were on base we got nice hits. Good team effort tonight.”
The Cougars host Fishers this Saturday in a doubleheader with hopes of continuing their hot streak. The first pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
