FARMINGTON -- Baseball was the name of the game as Farmington played at former 4A-1 foe Gravette on March 9.
The Cardinals (5-2) scored eight runs in the first two innings and pounded out 14 hits to power their way to the nonconference win.
Blake Putnam went 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs and Tyler Gregg was 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs to lead Farmington's offense.
Cade Fenton and Kyle Gates combined for a one-hitter over 6 innings for the Cardinals. Fenton, a senior right-hander, picked up the win after striking out 10 in four innings.
Brady Moorman had the lone hit and RBI for the Lions (2-4).
With a 13-3 win, the Cardinals stretched their winning streak to five in a row after an 0-2 start. Farmington was 5-2 going into Friday's game at Stillwater, Okla.
"Stillwater is one of the top ranked teams in Oklahoma and has received national recognition," said Farmington parent Johnny Larkin, adding, "It is another tough non-conference game scheduled by Coach (Jay) Harper to prepare the Cardinals for district and hopefully a state playoff birth."
Cade Fenton was the winning pitcher, recording 10 strikeouts against Gravette. He had a lot of run support. Logan Bobak, Ryan Larkin, Blake Putnam, and Tyler Gregg recorded multiple hits in the game. Putnam and Gregg knocked in four RBIs apiece while Larkin and Morales had two RBIs each.
Bobak led off the first inning with a single and stole second base. Larkin plated him with an RBI single. Putnam followed with a single and Gregg hit a two-run triple for an early 3-0 lead. The Cardinals continued to put pressure on the Lions as Kelton Price hit a hard ground ball that was misplayed by the Gravette shortstop to score Gregg for a 4-0 first inning lead.
Senior Cade Fenton took the mound in the bottom of the first inning and was a little wild by issuing the first two batters walks. Gravette then got a hit to plate the two runs to narrow the lead to 4-2. Fenton found his groove and struck out the next three batters.
Trenton McChristian led off the second inning with a walk. Bobak was hit by a pitch and Larkin hit an RBI fielder's choice. Putnam hit a double and Gregg hit a single to score Larkin and Putnam for a 7-2 Farmington lead. Kelton Price reached base on a fielder's choice and Tripp Cheney followed with a single. Will Danenhauer hit into another fielder's choice to load the bases. Eric Morales was walked to score Price for an 8-2 lead.
Fenton struck out the side in the second inning to record six strike outs in a row. Ryan Larkin had a single in the third inning but was stranded at first base. Fenton walked the lead off batter in the third inning and he stole two bases to eventually score on an infield error. Fenton recorded two strikeouts to end the third inning.
Price led off the fourth inning with a double and Danenhauer had a single to put runners at the corners. Morales had an RBI sacrifice bunt to make the score 9-2. Fenton recorded two more strikeouts in the fourth to hold Gravette scoreless.
Farmington led 9-3 after four innings. Bobak led off the fifth inning with a single and Larkin followed with a double. Putnam had a 2-RBI single for an 11-2 lead. Kyle Gates entered the game as a relief pitcher to start the fifth inning. He retired the side in order while only throwing 8 pitches.
Morales reached on a single in the sixth. Bobak was hit by a pitch and Larkin reached on a fielding error. Putnam hit a 2-RBI single to make the score 13-3 after five and a half innings. Gates again retired the side in order in the sixth inning to end the game with Farmington winning 13-3.
Sports on 03/22/2017