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Bauxite senior Aden Palmer takes a cut in an 8-2 win over Pangburn this past Friday.Â
CHRISTIE HEIDELBERG/Special to The Saline Courier
BAUXITE – The Bauxite Miners won their second straight game this past Friday in Bauxite. Hosting the Pangburn Tigers in nonconference action, the Miners took an 8-2 decision to move to 3-2 on the season, standing at 1-1 in 5-4A Conference action going into Tuesday’s doubleheader against Pulaski Academy.Â
The Miners did it both on the mound and the plate Friday, giving up just one earned run and banging out 11 hits while holding the Tigers to five with sophomore Ross Morgan earning the win after giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks, striking out two in four innings.Â
Morgan would get in a little trouble in the top of the first when consecutive errors led to an unearned sacrifice fly for the 1-0 deficit, but it didn’t take too long for the Miners to take control.Â
Bauxite would get on the board in the second inning when senior Jorge Acosta reached on a one-out single and senior courtesy runner Joseph O’Bryan stole second and scored on junior Garret Oliver’s RBI single to right to even things up at 1-all.Â
Oliver stole second and went to third on senior Gustavo Rico’s bunt single, and Oliver scored on sophomore Tony Fox’s squeeze bunt RBI for the 2-1 lead the Miners would not relinquish. Junior Blaine Duer followed with a 2-run single and senior Aden Palmer’s RBI double made it six straight hits for Bauxite for the 5-1 lead after two.Â
Pangburn picked up its last run on an RBI single in the top of the fourth, but Bauxite responded in the bottom of the frame with three runs when Duer reached on a one-out double and Palmer was hit by a pitch. Duer tagged to third on junior Ben Crain’s fly out for the second out before O’Bryan walked to load the bases. Duer scored on a wild pitch and sophomore Avery Heidelberg knocked two more in with a two-out single to left field to cap it at 8-2.Â
Four Miners had multi-hit games with Acosta and Oliver (RBI) both 2 for 3, and Fox and Duer (two runs, two RBIs) 2 for 4. Palmer was 1 for 2 with a run and RBI, Rico was 1 for 3 with a run and Heidelberg’s hit went for two RBIs.Â
After Morgan’s first four frames, the Miners were excellent in relief with freshman Will Wright pitching two scoreless innings on two hits and no walks with three strikeouts, while junior Kyle Vocque pitched a 1-2-3 perfect seventh.Â
Bauxite played a doubleheader vs. PA on Tuesday at home in league play and head to Bismarck to take on the Lions in nonconference action Thursday before spring break.Â
