Dodge had to shuffle its schedule as weather threatened to leave them without a single game last week. A game at West Laurens was cancelled when West Laurens cancelled classes for students on Wednesday. By rule, class cancellations prohibit a school from hosting sporting events on that day.
Dodge offered to host West Laurens, but the Raiders declined. On Friday, Dodge County was forced to cancel classes due to weather preventing the Indians from hosting Berrien County as scheduled. Berrien invited the Indians to travel down to Nashville for the second time in seven days. Eager to avenge a gut wrenching defeat at the hands of Berrien, Dodge took the Rebels up on the offer. The Indians took advantage of the hospitality by defeating Berrien 6-1.
Andrew Lowery started on the mound for Dodge and had another excellent performance. He would run his consecutive scoreless innings streak to ten and two thirds (10 2/3) innings before giving up a solo home run with two outs in the third inning. Lowery followed that by hitting a batter, giving up a base hit, and issuing a walk to load the bases with two outs. Lowery got the next batter to fly out to Brendan O’Connor in left field for the third out. Lowery would go on to pitch three more scoreless innings to earn his second win of the season finishing with six innings pitched allowing three hits and one run while striking out three, walking two and hitting one batter. Landin Crummey came into pitch the seventh inning and retired all three batters striking out one.
Offensively, Dodge eventually took advantage of several Berrien miscues while hitting the ball a little better than last week. Dodge also ran the bases well. Dodge wasted a leadoff single by O’Connor and a single and stolen base by Garret Durden who was bumped up to the two-spot in the batting order.
In the second, Dodge wasted a leadoff single by Brodie Woodard. A would be extra base hit by Davis Marchant landed inches foul down the right field line. Marchant then hit into a fielder’s choice erasing Woodard. Marchant was erased when Crummey hit into a fielder’s choice. A Dodge strikeout ended the inning.
In the Dodge third, O’Connor led off with another base hit. He was erased when Durden hit into a fielder’s choice. Parker Dixon flew out to deep center for the second out. Lowery and Noah Mincey drew walks to load the bases. Then Brodie Woodard drew a walk to plate Durden. With the bases still loaded, Coach Herring gave the go ahead for Seth Cossett to attempt a straight steal of home plate. Cossett has good speed and had entered earlier as a courtesy runner for Lowery.
The right handed pitcher was pitching from the windup with the bases loaded, which meant there was nothing he could do but deliver to the plate once he started his motion. Cossett timed it up and went on first movement sliding into the plate before the catcher could receive the pitch and tag him. For good measure, the left handed Crummey feigned a bunt attempt to try and distract the catcher. Mincey and Woodard stole second and third respectively thus completing the rarest play in all of baseball, the “straight triple steal.” Dodge led 2-0.
Dodge would add another run in the fourth. Marchant reached on an error by the third baseman when he hit a high pop up into the swirling wind. The third baseman didn’t have a chance. It looked like something you would see at old Candlestick Park. Timmy Johnson came in as a pinch runner for the designated hitter Marchant and would take his spot in the batting order thereafter. O’Connor then hit one hard to third base that was scored an error as the third base man misplayed the hop. The speedy Johnson advanced to third on the play. With two outs, Parker Dixon doubled to left scoring Johnson and giving Dodge a 3-1 lead.

Dodge defeats Berrien County while making historic play
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