Ellison relieved Johnson in the fifth inning for the Wolverines and kept the Cardinal bats silent. Caleb Pressley came on for Whitmire in the sixth inning. He retired Kuykendall, but walked Cardinal catcher Thomas Rabatie. Wofford and Smith followed with singles. Smith’s single drove in Rabatie. Pressley walked Trevor Walker to load the bases, but got ahead in the count on the next batter Jacob Fowler. With two strikes, Fowler hit a deep ball into center field to drive in the game-winning run.
Kuykendall dominated the Wolverine bats on the mound. The only Whitmire run came in the fifth inning when he walked Johnson with the bases loaded. The senior allowed just four hits and struck out 11.
“I was just putting the ball in there where they could hit it,” Kuykendall said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much. I got a good defense behind me.”
The Cardinals (2-4, 2-0) will play at Southside Christian tonight, Tuesday, March 13 at 7 p.m.