Horsemen Down Dawgs; Tied For First Place

BRISTOL, JUNE 7—By sweeping their second doubleheader game last Sunday, the Calhoun County Horsemen (7-3) tied the Liberty County Dawgs (7-3) for first place in the Big Bend Baseball League standings.The Horsemen jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first two innings of Game One on their way to a 5-3 win. With one out in the first inning, they rattled off 4 straight hits to go on top, 2-0. Both Chad Bailey and Ben Faurot singled to centerfield. Jeremy Proctor followed with a ringing double to left centerfield that scored Bailey from second base and Faurot ended up on third. Josh McIntosh beat out his hot shot off of the shortstop Jody Parish and Faurot raced home on the play.Cale Chafin continued posting Calhoun County runs in the second frame after he punched a single to centerfield. Brandon Smith followed Chafin by taking the first pitch he saw and slamming it into left field for a double. With two outs Faurot raked a single into centerfield that plated Chafin and Smith and the Horsemen had a 4-0 lead.However, the Dawgs cut that lead in half with 2 runs of their own in the third inning. Cameron O’Neal led off the inning with a single to left centerfield and he ended up on second base after left fielder Brandon Smith overran the ball. With one out Vern Tanner was issued a walk and the bases were loaded after Jaime Parish reached on an infield hit. Jody Parish followed suit by scoring O’Neal on his infield hit. A towering sacrifice fly to centerfield allowed Tanner to cross the dish but a good relay by the Horsemen gunned down Jaime Parrish trying to reach third base.Calhoun County got one of those runs back in the fourth inning to make it a 5-2 ballgame. Lead off batter Brandon Smith ripped a two-out single to right field and Chad Bailey was given a free pass to first base. Ben Faurot reached on a throwing error by third baseman Jaime Parish and Smith scored on the play.Throwing his second complete game, the Horsemen’s Jeremy Barber (4-1) loaded the bases in the sixth inning by walking Richie Smith and hitting Garet Shuler after Jody Parish had reached on a one-out single. Barber got Robbie Fleck to wave at a 2-2 pitch for the second out. Richard Joiner picked up a RBI after Barber walked him to give the Dawgs their third run. However, Barber righted himself and got Cameron O’Neal to look at strike three to end the inning and give Calhoun County their sixth win of the season, 5-3.Of the 28 batters he faced, Jeremy Barber allowed only 2 earned runs off of 5 hits. He struck out 7 Dawgs and surrendered 3 walks.Leading the Horsemen at the plate was Ben Faurot and Brandon Smith each of whom went 2-for-4. Faurot scored a run and collected 3 RBI. Smith had a double and he scored twice. Chad Bailey, Cale Chafin and Josh McIntosh were all 1-for-3. McIntosh tallied a RBI. Both Bailey and Chafin scored a run.Liberty County’s Boo Morris was saddled with the loss. He went the distance giving up 4 earned runs off of 8 hits while striking out 5 of the 31 batters he faced. Morris issued only one walk in the game.Jody Parish was the Dawgs’ offensive leader going 2-for-3, scored a run and picked up a RBI.The Horsemen pulled the hat trick in Game Two. They had 3 hits, scored 3 runs in the third inning despite the fact that they committed 3 errors in the contest. However, they swept the Dawgs by holding them to only one run for the 3-1 victory.With one out and after being hit by a pitch in the third inning, Cale Chafin stole second base. Brandon Smith walked after receiving four straight balls. Ben Faurot delivered a two-out double into the corner of left field that scored Chafin and left Smith standing on third base. Jeremy Proctor raked a single to right field that allowed Smith and Faurot to post runs 2 and 3.The Horsemen’s hurler, Jason Barber, who had faced only 4 batters over the minimum without giving up a run, gave way to Tad Scott after 4 innings of work.Liberty County scratched out their lone run in the sixth inning. Richie Smith reached on a one-out walk and he stole second base. Robbie Fleck doubled through the left side to plate Smith.Calhoun County’s Jason Barber picked up his first win of the season to go along his save. In 4 innings of work he gave up 2 hits, struck out 8 of the 16 batters he faced, and didn’t surrender a walk.Working through the final 3 innings, reliever Tad Scott gave up an earned run off of one hit. He fanned 6 of the 12 batters he faced and he allowed a walk.Leading the Horsemen offensively was Ben Faurot who was 1-for-2 with a RBI and he scored a run. Jeremy Proctor was 1-for-3 and he collected 2 RBI. Brandon Smith went 1-for-4 and he scored a run.Richie Smith led Liberty County by going 1-for-2, which was a double. He scored once and had a stolen base to his credit. Both Jody Parrish and Robbie Fleck were 1-for-3. Fleck’s double resulted in a RBI. With the win the Horsemen continue to hold a three-game lead over the second-place Bay Brewers (4-5). They’ll try to add to their five-game winning streak this Sunday as they take on Gulf County Drive (6-4), whom they split with earlier in the season. The first pitch of Game One at Wewahitchka High School’s field is scheduled for 1 pm (CT). Game Two will get underway at 4 pm (CT).GO HORSEMEN!!!