The Hampton-Dumont-CAL baseball team was limited on scoring chances and Center Point-Urbana pulled ahead on a pair of big swings in the 3rd inning to advance with a 5-1 win in a Class 3A district quarterfinal on Friday, as aired on 104.9 KLMJ.
CPU tracked down the lead, plating four runs in the 3rd inning on a 2 RBI double by Tommy Taylor and a 2 RBI single by Jonah Dupont. The Stormin Pointers added an insurance run in the 5th to move ahead 5-0. The Bulldogs had some traffic on the base pads over the course of the game, with two runners on in the 3rd, 5th and 7th innings. In the third and fifth the Stormin Pointers were able to work out of it. In the seventh the Bulldogs brought one of the runners home on a high arching RBI single by Cael Burmester into short right field that scored Brody Walton.
Head Coach Matt Lokenvitz says the Bulldogs were short a big moment base hit and was proud of how the team stayed in the game.
“That’s all you can ask for with a team that’s growing and learning and trying to play their best baseball at the end of the season is just to compete,” says Lokenvitz. ” CPU had two runners on got the big hit to score two and then they had bases loaded, got the big hit to score two more. For us, we had second, third, one out and couldn’t get the big hit to score them. Then we had second, third, again, one out, couldn’t get the big hit to score them, until the seventh. That’s the way baseball goes. We played a great game. I’m very proud of the way we competed here tonight and didn’t give up. We battled all the way through the seventh inning to scratch away one run with a couple people on. I’m very proud of these kids.”
HD-CAL was led by senior Cael Burmester with an RBI and senior Brody Walton recording three base hits in their final game as Bulldogs.
HD-CAL closes the season at 9-21 overall.
