Lake View’s Darius Leonard hit a three run homer for the Wild Gators to seal a 15-1 win over the Class 2A Auctioneers in Mullins on Friday, April 13.
Lake View kicked things off with three runs in the top of the first. Chris Ford singled and advanced to second when Nate Lewis was hit by a pitch from Mullins’ Ard. Ford stole third and Lewis stole second as Eric Munoz advanced to first on a walk. Hunter Walters made it to base on an error to bring in Ford, and John Michael Brown hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Lewis. Darius Leonard got to base on a walk and Munoz stole home to put Lake View up 3-0.
Mullins’ Odom singled in the first inning, but the Auctioneers couldn’t get any momentum going against the Gators. The Gators were similarly stymied in the second with two batters flying out. Lewis hit a single and stole second, but Walters struck out to end the inning.
Ard made it to base on an error in the bottom of the inning and stole to second as Mullins’ Gerald got a walk. Goodyear hit a fielder’s choice that advanced ard to third, but Gerald and Goodyear were both put out before they could make it to second, and Parker hit a fly to end the inning before Ard could score.
In the top of the third, Brown hit to the pitcher for an out, Leonard’s fly was caught for an out, and Brody Smith struck out to end the inning quickly. Mullins also breezed through the third, with Sema and Stroud put out and Timmons striking out swinging.
The Gators opened the fourth with an out, and Roger Scott was put out for number two. Chris Ford singled and stole second as Nate Lewis received a walk. Ford advanced to third on a passed ball and stole home to put Lake View up 4-0. Lewis stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch from Mullins’ Ard, and Eric Munoz got a walk to bring Lewis in to give Lake View a 5-0 lead.
For Mullins, the fourth was another quick inning as Odom flew out to left field, and Foxworth and Ard were both put out at first.
The Gators launched into the fifth and final inning with a double from Walters. John Michael Brown hit a sacrifice bunt that moved Walters to third, and an error brought him in to put Lake View up 6-0. Leonard got a walk, stole second, and was brought in by a single from Steele Mendenhall. Scott made it to base on an error to advance Mendenhall to second, and a single from Ford brought in Mendenhall and moved Scott to third.
Lewis hit a single to bring in both Scott and Ford, stole second, and made it to third on a passed ball. Munoz got a walk and stole second, and Hunter Walters got a walk to load the bases. Brown singled to score Lewis and Munoz, and Darius Leonard hit a home run to bring in Walters and Brown and put the Gators up 15-0 and end the inning on the mercy rule.
Mullins’s Gerald hit a single to start off the bottom of the fifth and Goodyear advanced him to second. Parker got to base on an error to score Gerald for Mullins’ only run of the game.
John Michael Brown picked up the win for Lake View on the mound, facing 19 batters and allowing just two hits, one run, and one earned run, with one walk and four outs.
Ard took the loss for Mullins, pitching 4.6 innings and facing 33 batters for nine hits, 15 runs, five earned runs, eight walks, and four outs. Stroud pitched one-third of an inning, facing one batter.
Darius Leonard led Lake View at bat with the three-run homer, going 1-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored and a stolen base. Chris Ford went 3-for-4 with an RBI, three runs, and three stolen bases; Nate Lewis went 2-for-2 with two RBI, three runs scored, and four stolen bases; John Michael Brown went 1-for-2 with three RBI and one run scored; Eric Munoz scored two runs with a stolen base; Hunter Walters went 1-for-3 with two runs scored, a double, and a stolen base; Steele Mendenhall went 1-for-2 with a RBI and one run scored; Roger Scott scored one run; and Brody Smith had one stolen base.
Lake View had a total of nine hits, two errors, and 10 RBI in the game.
Mullins was led by Gerald, who went 1-for-1 with one run scored and a walk, and by Odom, who went 1-for-2. The Auctioneers had two hits and three errors in the loss.
Lake View improves to 11-3 overall and 8-2 in Region 8-A. Johnsonville lead the region with an 8-0 record, with Latta in third and Green Sea-Floyds in fourth.
Lake View was scheduled to take on Johnsonville on Monday and will host Latta on Friday at 5:30 p.m. to finish out region play. The Wild Gators will wrap up the regular season on Monday, April 23, when they host Mullins. Make plans to attend to support our local teams!
