LAUREL HILL — Sometimes it’s hard to measure the progress on a young team based on one game.
Play by Laurel Hill School’s baseball team in the early part of the 2015 season indicate the Hoboes are a better team than they were a year ago when they failed to win a game.
Friday’s District 1-1A game against eight-time defending district champs Paxton shows there’s still work to be done for a young Laurel Hill team.
Laurel HIlll-Paxton baseball photos>>>
Bobcat pitcher Austin Franklin threw a no-hitter as Paxton rolled to a 19-0 win. The game was called after five innings on the 10-run mercy rule.
Paxton scored 11 of the 19 runs in the fifth inning when the Bobcats sent 17 batters to the plate.
Franklin dominated the Hoboes throughout the game recording 12 of the 15 Laurel Hill outs via strikeout. Ten of the 12 strikeouts were on called third strikes.
The other three Hobo outs came on ground outs to the right side of the infield.
“I thought Bryson Cooper pitched well,” Hobo Coach Ronnie Smith said. “Last year we were down and nobody pitched their better pitchers against us. I told (Paxton) Coach (Chris) Davenport we’ve played them twice now and we’ve seen their three best pitchers (Franklin, Grant Stewart and Andrew Howell).
“I’m glad to see them. I think our kids have got to (face good pitching).”
Cooper got the start on the mound for Laurel Hill and didn’t pitch that poorly. Shaking defense hurt the Hoboes as Paxton scored three unearned runs in the first inning.
Franklin helped his own cause in the inning with a two-run homer.
Laurel Hill did manage to work Franklin for three walks.
Dax Maddox drew the first free pass from Franklin in the first inning. T.J. White walked in the second inning and Logan Fickett walked in the third.
Cooper and the Hoboes held Paxton to one run in the second, two runs in the third and two runs in the fourth before the flood gates opened.
The Hoboes misplayed a couple of fly balls into base hits in the second that led to the Bobcat run. Stewart knocked in Zach Varnum as he grounded out to Hobo second baseman Chase Locke.
Franklin had another run scoring hit for Paxton in the third. Emory Anderson’s two-run double was the big Bobcat blow of the fourth inning.
The fifth inning was a free for all as Cooper ran out of gas and was replaced by Maddox. Maddox only faced a few batters before giving way to Justin Rosen. Rosen finished out the inning getting all three Bobcat outs.
Cooper struck out five Bobcat batters. Rosen recorded to strikeouts.
“There are still some growing pains to get back to where we can compete,” Smith said. “That’s the challenge each and every day is to go out there and compete.
“It kind of snowballed there in the end. I just hope that doesn’t carry over.”
EmailNews Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Paxton makes quick work of Laurel Hill (PHOTOS, VIDEO)