After Todd County Central dropped a 5-1 decision to hosts Logan County on Monday, it appeared to be business as usual. The defeat was the Rebels’ 32nd straight in the series dating back to a 2-1 victory on March 30, 2010.
However, despite having a pair of seniors stuck to the bench with injuries and dropping seven of their last nine contests before Tuesday, the Rebels got an excellent performance on the mound from Zack Robinson and held on for a cathartic 3-2 win in Elkton.
The Rebels started the bottom of the 2nd with a walk and a double by Peyton Ortiz to put runners on second and third. After a pair of strikeouts, Grady Reding came through with a two-run single to hand Robinson a lead.
With Todd Central in front 3-0 after a run on an error in the 3rd, Robinson hit two batters on either side of a single to load the bases with no outs in the 4th. But he got off the hook with a double play and a flyout to keep the Cougars off the scoreboard.
Logan County got a run back on Samuel Hayes’ RBI single in the 6th and opened the 7th with a pair of singles. With one out, Montgomery Milam smacked a single to cut the margin to a run with runners on first and second.
With Robinson close to his pitch limit, Gavyn Nolan came on in relief with the game in the balance. After going down 3-0 to the first hitter, he battled back for a strikeout. Then, with the tying run now at third, Nolan only needed four pitches to record his second strikeout and pick up the save to end the drought against the Cougars.
The Rebels snapped a two-game skid to move to 11-13 and even their district record at 3-3. Robinson earned his fourth win, allowing two runs, one earned, on nine hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
Nate Reding was three for three at the plate, and five other Rebels had a hit.
Dayman McLean took the loss, surrendering three runs, two earned, on eight hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Davin Yates, Brady Hinton, and Milam finished with two hits each for the Cougars.
