Manila took both ends of a double header, crushing Brookland 8-0 in the opener and finishing off the Bearcats with a 12-0 whipping in the nightcap Monday at Manila in 3A-3 conference baseball action.
Tray Malone was the pitching star in the opener, striking out 13 Bearcats while giving up just two hits and issuing only one walk. Malone also drove in a run and scored once. Frankie Cowgill went 3-4, including a run-scoring double. The senior also scored twice and swiped two bases. Kyle Evans added a pair of hits and scored a run. Tracey Reinhart had an RBI single and scored once while Hunter Bryan and Jacob Britt also had base hits for the Lions. Zach Birmingham drove in one run, as Manila finished with nine hits on the afternoon.
Manila pounded out 15 hits in the nightcap, scoring runs in every inning except one to finish off the doubleheader sweep. Hunter Bryan was a perfect 3-3 on the day with three runs scored and an RBI, including a double. Bryan also had a sacrifice fly to drive in a run and walked once. Bryan earned the victory on the mound, pitching six innings, striking out six. The right-hander gave up just one hit on the day.
Tray Malone also ripped three base hits, with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored. Jared Hembrey, Kyle Evans, Frankie Cowgill and Luke McLaughlin all had two hits apiece. McLaughlin drove in two runs while Hembrey doubled in a run and scored once. Michael Shedd added a hit and scored twice to cap off the Manila offensive attack.
Manila improves to 10-1 on the season and a perfect 7-0 in 3A-3 conference play. The Lions will put their first place lead in the league standings on the line this week with games against Rivercrest Monday and Tuesday afternoon. The Lions travel to Wilson Monday before hosting the Colts with a 4:00 contest Tuesday afternoon. Manila will host East Poinsett County in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 and will cap off the week with another non-conference game at Marked Tree Thursday afternoon at 4:00.
Two other area teams didn't fare as well during the week. Riverside dropped a pair of games, losing to Marmaduke 11-0 on Monday afternoon and Cross County 11-6 on Wednesday, before dropping an 8-0 decision to Marked Tree on Saturday. Buffalo Island Central lost an 18-0 decision to East Poinsett County Tuesday afternoon at Lepanto.
Morgan Fletcher led Riverside with three hits in Wednesday's loss to Cross County. The Rebels (1-3, 0-3 2A-3) also got two hits and two RBIs from Jake Love, while Nick Bagley, Blake Hogan and Josh Driver all had two hits apiece. Bagley and Hogan also drove in a run apiece.
Riverside will return to action Monday afternoon at Hoxie before traveling to Marked Tree for a 4:00 game on Tuesday. The Rebels will travel to Monette to face BIC on Wednesday before hosting Rector Thursday afternoon in a 4:30 game at Lake City. Riverside will participate in the Craighead County Tournament this weekend at Brookland.
BIC will host Marmaduke Monday afternoon and will play the Greyhounds again Tuesday afternoon at Marmaduke. BIC will play host to Riverside Wednesday afternoon to close out the week.