The DeKalb West Bulldawgs pulled out a narrow victory over the visiting Algood Middle squad at West School field on April 10. The game see-sawed back and forth with each team leading at some point, treating the full bleachers to an exciting contest. The shortened five-inning format, which allows time for the junior varsities to also play, worked out just fine for Coach Tad Webbs team.

Avery South started the game on the mound for DeKalb and managed to get a pop-up third out with runners on to hold Algood scoreless on the first. Dekalb plated one run in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a two-out hit by South.

Algood bounced back with two runs in the top of the second. The Bulldawgs came clawing back with two runs of their own, courtesy of back-to-back walks, a solid hit by J.J. Pack and an error by the center fielder.

The third inning saw Algood score another run to knot the score at 3-3. But another hit by Pack and aggressive base running got Dekalb their go-ahead run.

Coach Webb went to the bullpen and Aidan Curtis responded with two shut-out innings to seal the victory.

The following day, the squad notched a big road win over Tuckers Crossroads over in Wilson County. The Bulldawgs used a relentless hitting attack to overcome an early deficit. Strong relief pitching also figured in the outcome. Tuckers Crossroad jumped out to an early lead in the first three innings off starting pitcher Levi Cantrell, but DeKalb battled to keep close and entered the fourth trailing by a score of 6-3.

Then, in the fourth, Coach Tad Webb brought J.J. Pack to the mound. He responded by shutting down the opponents for the next three innings. He was aided by two clutch put- outs at home by Jordan Crook.

In the top of the fifth, the Bulldawgs hammered home five runs and the hits just kept on coming. They added four more in the top of the seventh and Patrick Cantrell closed out the game by pitching a scoreless seventh. The final tally was 13-6 in favor of DeKalb.

Thursday’s game brought disappointment. The DeKalb West Bulldawgs were defeated by Prescott Middle at the DeKalb field. The final score was 7-1. Prescotts combination of strong pitching and hitting was consistent throughout the game. They were able to score in all but one inning while holding DeKalb to only the one run.

Patrick Cantrell started on the mound for the home team. He was relieved in the fourth inning by Isaac Knowles.

DeKalbs lone run came in the bottom half of the first inning, when Matt Sweeney, who reached on a walk, stole second and was plated by a hard-line drive single by Levi Cantrell.

In the fourth inning, J.J. Pack singled.

DeKalb also participated in the rain-postponed Smith County play day in Carthage over the weekend. The Bulldawgs split a pair of four-inning contests, defeating Westmoreland 18-2, and losing to Livingston 4-2.