CHINA SPRING, Texas — After losing their series opener to Taylor Thursday night, it would have been easy for China Spring to throw in the towel. Instead, they threw the ace up their sleeve.
Cage McCloud, China Spring's ace pitcher, threw all seven innings in the Cougars 3-1 victory in Game Two of the series. He struck out 11 Taylor batters while only giving up 4 hits. In Game Three, the Cougars completed their comeback, winning 10-5 to secure their place in the Regional Quarterfinals.
McCloud earned some early run support from the Cougar offense. Jase Garrett opened the inning by beating out a slow chopper to third base. McCloud helped his own cause with a base hit to right field which advanced Garrett to third. The pair would score on a 2-RBI hit from Bryce Tabor that ricocheted off the Taylor second baseman's leg into center field.
From there, McCloud would carry them to a victory.
In game two, the China Spring offense came to life, scoring 10 runs behind extra-base hits from McCloud, Tabor, J.C. Hughes, Kolby Kilough, Trevor Black, and Trace Necessary. Necessary also went 1.1 innings in relief to help seal the Cougar victory.
With the win, China Spring advances to the Regional Quarterfinals where they will play Rusk.
