Woodland leadoff man Garrett Hendrix (seen here in a game earlier this season) scored three runs out of the leadoff spot as Woodland knocked off Wadley 14-7 Tuesday in Woodland.
Woodland’s baseball team took a big early step toward securing a playoff spot and completed an unusual three-game sweep of county teams with a 14-7 win over Wadley Tuesday in Woodland.
Tuesday’s game was the opening area contest for both teams, and Wadley held a 6-4 lead going into the fourth inning. But Woodland scored 10 times on five hits, three hit batters and two walks in the bottom of the fourth and never looked back.
Paxton Gowens went 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored for the Bobcats, who put together 10 hits and drew a total of eight walks in the game. Garrett Hendrix was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and three runs scored out of the leadoff spot for Woodland.
Jackson Smith went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI at the plate and pitched the final two innings in scoreless fashion to assure Woodland of the victory after the big fourth-inning rally. Tripp Morin and Rackley Everett added two RBI apiece for Woodland.
Wadley had the advantage early thanks some good early-innings work at the plate by leadoff man Jaylon Marable. Marable walked to start the game and came around to score one of two first-inning runs for the Bulldogs. Woodland answered with three runs in its half of the first, but Wadley quickly reclaimed the lead in the second when Marable hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run.
Wadley broke a 4-4 tie in the third with back-to-back RBI singles by Demon Spraddling and Brody Morgan.
Landon Gilliland finished 3-for-3 with an RBI for Wadley, and Spraddling finished with two hits and two driven in.
The win pushes Woodland’s record to 4-6 overall and 1-0 in area play. Woodland has now won three straight games, and all three have been against the other three county teams. They knocked off Randolph County 11-3 on March 17 and stunned Handley 7-6 on March 20 leading up to Tuesday’s win over the Bulldogs.
Wadley falls to 2-8 overall and 0-1 in the area with the loss.
The teams will complete their area series Thursday with a game at Wadley. Fayetteville is considered to be the front-runner for the top spot in the area, so series between Woodland and Wadley should prove to be pivotal in the race for the top two spots and a playoff berth.
