The Landrum baseball team is on a tear. The Cardinals are currently moving through their region schedule like a wrecking ball and are off to a 7-0 start.
That demolition continued on Tuesday night as Whitmire came to town for a 13-3 Cardinal victory. Landrum wasted no time, jumping on the Wolverines in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Kaleb Kukykendall started the inning with a walk. Kuykendall reached based in all four at bats on Tuesday. Jon Humphries reached base on an error. Thomas Rabatie followed with a bases-clearing triple.
When the dust settled in the first inning, the Cardinals had a 5-0 lead. Rabatie finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk. Kuykendall, who’s been on fire as a leadoff hitter, finished 2-for-2 with two walks and three RBIs.
“Kaleb is doing a tremendous job leading off,” Landrum coach Ray McCallister said. “He’s got a good eye and knows his zone.”
The Cardinals added two runs in the third inning, three in the fourth and two in the fifth.
On the mound, Joseph Corn pitched a gem. He pitched a complete game with seven strikes. His only down inning was in the fourth when the Wolverines managed to score three runs. Two errors were a big part of the inning that opened the door for Whitmire. After that inning, McCallister challenged Corn to come out in the fifth and show his stuff. Corn did. In the fifth, he struck one out, forced a groundout and got the final batter to fly out to centerfield.
“I was proud of the way he came back,” McCallister said.
Landrum is peaking at the right time.
“We’re just going out there, playing and doing our best,” Rabatie said.
McCallister echoed the sentiments of his catcher and added an addendum. The Cardinals have yet to play well on offense, defense and on the mound at the same time.
“When we put sthose three pieces together, there’s no telling how good we can be,” he said.
Landrum is in the driver’s seat for the region championship. The Cardinals are the only undefeated team in the region, but still have to play Southside Christian twice. The Sabres are in second place.