Anthony Eck gave up only four runs in five innings, but Carthage’s offense struggled as El Dorado Springs hung on to a 6-4 win on Monday at Carl Lewton Stadium.
“Give (El Dorado Springs) credit,” said head coach Scott Quinly. “They showed up and made some plays. We didn’t put them in position where they had to make a lot of plays, that was kind of frustrating.”
Eck, a senior right-hander, made his first start of the season, yielding only five hits and one walk. Eck, however, gave up a two-out, two-run home run to Cotey Ketchum in the top of the fourth, giving the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead.
Bulldogs’ starter Trevor Quinlan, a left-hander, cruised for five innings after allowing a run in the bottom of the first.
Eck, who went 2-for-4 with two singles, led off the Tigers’ first with a single, advancing to third thanks to a two-base error. Eck scored to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
It would be Carthage’s last.
The Bulldogs scored two runs in the second before Ketchum hit his long ball in the fourth. Quinlan settled down after the first, shutting down Carthage for five innings as the Tigers scuffled at the plate, swinging at numerous first pitches and had trouble getting on top of Quinlan’s mid to upper 60’s fastball.
“For five innings, we only hit two ground balls,” Quinly said. “We preach all the time baseball is a game if you hit fly balls (the defense) just has to catch it. If you hit (the ball) on the ground (the defense) has to field it, throw it and catch it again.
“Our philosophy is hitting ground balls and making (the defense) make plays ... we didn’t do that today.”
Eck was lifted after the fifth in favor of sophomore Joe Allan, who retired the first two batters he faced in the top of the sixth. Allan, however, appeared rattled after the Bulldogs extended the inning and scored two runs, but settled down in the seventh.
“Both of our pitchers did a good job,” Quinly said. “We challenged (Ketchum), who was (the Bulldogs) nine-hole hitter. We threw him a fastball and he turned on it and hit it out of the ballpark.
“Codi Garber, our catcher, did one of the best jobs I’ve seen as a leader and taking care of our pitchers. He has come a long way.”
