Newton County’s baseball season was on the brink on Monday against Mendenhall.
But sophomore David Burton saved the day for the Cougars.
Burton pitched a brilliant four-hitter and blasted a two-run home run to lead the Cougars to a 3-1 over Mendenhall and secure a spot in the Class 4A playoffs.
Newton County, now 9-14, will enter the Class 4A South State playoffs as the No. 4 seed after missing the playoffs last year. The Cougars will take on Florence in the first round of the playoffs.
County 3, Mendenhall 1
The Cougars secured a playoff berth as they beat Mendenhall on Monday.
Mendenhall scored one in the third before County answered with two in the fourth and one in the sixth.
David Burton was dominant for County on the mound as he pithed a complete-game four-hitter. Burton didn’t give up a walk and struck out 12 in the win.
County had seven hits in the contest as Burton had a big two-run home run and Cole Shimfessel was 2-for-4 at the plate with two doubles. Tyler Cavenaugh singled and scored a run while Tucker Fitch singled and had an RBI
Northeast Lauderdale 9, County 6
The Trojans scored three runs in the top of the ninth and took an extra-inning victory from the Cougars on Tuesday.
Newton County scored three in the first and two in the third and led 5-1. County added a run in the fifth to lead 6-1 before Northeast answered with five runs in the top of the sixth to send the game to extra innings. Northeast scored three in the top of the ninth to take the win.
County outhit Northeast Lauderdale 9-6 but the Cougars committed eight errors in the field. Cole Shimfessel was 3-for-5 on the night with a double and two RBIs. Tyler Cavenaugh doubled and drove in two runs while Rod Evans and Connor Boggan each scored two runs apiece. Gage Hollingsworth singled and drove in a run while Tucker Fitch singled and scored a run.
David Burton started on the mound and pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up six runs on four hits and five walks while striking out seven. Jacob Hitt pitched three innings and gave up three unearned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out four. Tyler Cavenaugh got the final two outs for the Cougars.
Northeast Lauderdale 9,
County 1
The Trojans built an 8-0 led and cruised to the win on Friday night to sweep the series from the Cougars.
Northeast scored one in the first, four in the second, three in the fourth and one in the fifth. County scored its only run in the fifth.
County only had four hits, led by David Burton who was 2-for-3 with a double. Rod Evans and Gage Hollingsworth also singled while Joshua Mott scored County’s only run.
Jacob Hitt pitched all six innings for the Cougars and gave up nine runs on 10 hits while striking out four.
