Colonels take third in Battle for Bartow; Wallin single highlights win

Cass' Nic Wallin lined a hard-hit single into centerfield Saturday at LakePoint as the Colonels finished third in the Battle for Bartow Classic

The Cass Colonels wrapped up their participation in the 2020 Battle for Bartow Baseball Classic Saturday at LakePoint with a 9-1 win over Rome in the tournament’s third place game. Cass broke open a scoreless game in the fourth inning with six runs and added on in the fifth and sixth frames. Rome scored its run in the bottom of the fourth. Chase Botts (5 IP, 1ER, 3H, 1BB, 2K) earned the pitching victory for the Colonels with five solid innings in his start on the mound. Blaine Ingram (2 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB, 1K) closed out the final two innings to secure the win.

Connor Mason (0.1 IP, 6R, 3ER, 2H, 3BB, 1K) was tagged with the pitching loss for Rome in relief of starter Carson Atkins (3 IP, 0R, 1H, 3BB, 3K). Drew Cromer (3.2 IP, 3R, 1ER, 4H, 0BB, 2K) entered in the fourth inning and closed out the game for the Wolves.

Six different Colonels had one hit each. Thomas Bott doubled and drove in a run. Logan Nelson tripled with one RBI. Matt Shook (RBI), Carson Hill (2 RBI), Mark Perdue (RBI, sac fly), and Nic Wallin added one hit each. Both Nelson and Shook were named to the Battle for Bartow All-Tournament Team. Nelson was 3-for-9 in the three-game event including a triple, a run scored, and two RBI. Shook was 3-for-6 including a triple and two walks. He also scored two runs, drove in three, and stole a base. The hit by Wallin was a story of its own. It was his first at-bat since returning to the game after more than a year-long battle with leukemia. Wallin’s hard-hit liner into centerfield to lead off the sixth inning received a standing ovation from the Cass fans in attendance and the entire Cass dugout emptied to celebrate with Wallin when he was removed for a runner with the high school re-entry rule.

Rome had one hit each by Jack Orr (triple), Andrew Harrell (double), Jonathan Vioga, Brayer Cowan, and Connor Mason.

Rome went 1-2 in the tournament and is now 5-6 on the season. Cass won two of three in the tournament and improved to 5-2 on the season. The Colonels begin Region 7-AAAAA play Wednesday at Villa Rica and will complete the two-game series at home Friday against the Wildcats. Both games are scheduled for 5:55 p.m. starts.