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The Cougars bagged their second win in a row with a 10-8 victory over Fullington Academy. Four GCA players scored more than one run, and Junior Aiden Whittaker led the team with five RBIs. Thursday’s two-run win follows a 12-3 thrashing of Crisp Academy Tuesday.

“The past two days, it’s been amazing,” Cougars’ head coach Ryan Riles said. “I’ve seen a lot of fight, no quit, that’s the problem we were having. They really didn’t know the talent that they had, I think now they’re starting to see that potential.”

The Cougars threw three pitchers on the mound. Whittaker pitched three innings, facing 13 batters and throwing 31 strikes on 52 pitches. Spencer Blanton pitched 2.2 innings, facing 20 batters and throwing 38 strikes on 73 pitches. Jacob Elkins pitched 1.1 innings, facing nine batters and throwing 12 strikes on 31 pitches.

The game was quiet until the bottom of the third inning.

3rd inning 3-0

Josh Adams opened the scoring for the Cougars with a run off a Keith Eidson line-drive single. Eidson and Landon Temples scored two at-bats later courtesy of an Aiden Whittaker ground-ball single.

4th inning 9-3

Fullington responded with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth inning.

GCA exploded in the bottom of the inning with five runs. Cade Wells scored the first run thanks to a bases-loaded walk while Eidson was at the plate. Elkins scored on the next at-bat off a Temples fly-ball single.

Whittaker had his second multi-RBI hit on the next at-bat. The junior pitcher hit a line-drive double to center field, bringing Adams, Eidson and Temples home. Whittaker capped off the inning’s scoring with a run on the next at-bat courtesy of a Noah Smith ground-ball single.

5th inning 9-4

Fullington added one run to their score in the fifth inning.

6th inning 10-6

Fullington scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning.

The Cougars hit back with one run in the bottom of the inning. Whittaker scored the team’s final run off a Smith fly-ball triple.

7th inning 10-8

The Trojans threatened GCA in the top of the seventh inning, scoring two runs and maintaining a consistent bases-loaded position. The Cougars held off the attack, and Elkins, their closer, pitched the final out to end the game with a score of 10-8.

“I’m super proud of them,” Riles said. “I just want them to keep going, don’t get complacent.”

The Cougars’ next competition is a rematch against the Trojans. The away game starts at 4 p.m. on Monday, April 15.