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After losing to the undefeated 1A D-II Baconton Charter Blazers (7-0, 2-0) last Thursday, 7-1 the Grace Christian Cougars (2-2, 0-0) were able to flush the results and get back to winning the following day, traveling to Albany and defeating the Westover Patriots again 8-6, and totaling 14 hits.

No. 12 Oathen Atkinson, No. 6 Keith Eidson, No. 99 Noah Smith, No. 24 Daniel Johnson, and No. 9 Landon Temples all had multiple base-hits on the afternoon and were responsible for driving in five of the eight Cougars runs. Smith and Eidson both had three-hit days.

The Cougars scored first with a ground ball single by catcher Smith who had a day at the plate, scoring twice and going three-for-five from the plate, driving in three runs.

No. 8 Aiden Whittaker was dealing on the mound striking out nine of the 13 batters he faced and giving up just one run in his three innings of work.

In typical Cougar fashion, being aggressive on the bases was evident initially. GCA stole 17 bags. Smith totaled four stolen bases against the Patriots and scored on a passed ball in the top of the third inning to give Grace Christian a 2-0 lead.

Smith’s day would only heat up more as he drilled a line drive double to left field that scored second baseman and pitcher Atkinson, and third baseman, shortstop, and pitcher Whittaker to give GCA a 4-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning.

Following Smith stealing third base, starting pitcher for the afternoon Daniel Johnson who went three innings, giving up just two hits and facing 12 batters singled on a fly ball to center field that was ruled an error and scored Smith to give the Cougars a comfortable 5-1 lead entering the bottom of the fourth.

Westover would answer back with a three-run inning to cut the lead back to one run (5-4) but the Cougars had an answer again driving in three runs in the top of the fifth inning, via Atkinson hitting a double on a live drive to center field scoring first baseman, Hines Roberts and designated hitter Jacob Elkins on a hit-and-run.

In baseball, a hit-and-run is a play where the batter swings at the pitch while the runner tries to steal a base.

The Grace Christian Academy Cougars would stretch their lead to four (8-4) in the top of the fifth inning after some crafty and alert base running by Eidson who stole second and third after Atkinson proceeded to score on a passed ball.

GCA’s road trip continued with visits to Brookwood on Monday at 5:00 p.m. where they lost a competitive ball game 8-6. Smith, Temples, and Johnson all delivered with two runs batted in. Smith stayed hot at the plate going an impressive four-for-four that included a single to center field in the top of the third inning, and a line drive to right field that resulted in a triple in the top of the seventh inning.

The Cougars’ offense was humming in the top of the third inning with four runs put on the board, all with two outs. Johnson doubled on a fly ball to center field that made it 4-0 Cougars, and Temples hit a ground ball single to right field to score Johnson and gave GCA an early 5-0 lead.

Brookwood would answer back in the bottom of the fourth with a five-run inning, GCA battled until the very end scoring a run in the seventh inning to make it a two-run game.

No.11 Elkins got the start on the bump and went three innings, giving up just one run, and striking out two batters. Johnson came into relief pitching 2.1 innings, striking out three and giving up just one earned run. Walks were an issue on the mound as the Cougars surrounded 12 in the loss.

Grace Christian will play at Terrell Academy, on Thursday, March 6, at 4:00 p.m., and take one more visit to Westover on Tuesday, March 11 at 4:00 p.m.