By JOSH FRYE
News Sportswriter
Escambia Academy’s Randall Bonds and J.J. Stevens combined to pitch a no-hitter, launching the Cougars past Hooper Academy 10-0 Thursday, February 25, for their third win of the season.
The Cougars made early work of the Colts during the first inning with a pair of scores from stolen bases. EA head coach Mike Sims was unable to provide batting statistics but said Stevens and Parker Robinson have helped pace the Cougars at the plate, each compiling an above-.400 batting average during the early season.
“We have been fortunate with the athletes we have,” Sims said. “The team has been successful on base and has been able to effectively stretch singles into doubles. Defensively, we have been successful in generating outs.”
According to the coaching staff, the team has had virtually little to no time to prepare for baseball season. Most of the players that dot the Cougars diamond were getting late starts due to being a part of the AISA Class AA basketball championship game.
“The guys have had little time to get their arms in shape,” Sims noted. “Once we get to the arms broken in and fine tune some things, we will be much better.”
The EA coach stressed that the development of Christian Crook and Brady Howell behind the plate at catcher has been a key asset to the team’s success and will continue to be a key to the team’s defense.
With the victory, EA improved to 3-2-1 on the season, with much more baseball left to play. The Cougars will travel to face Lowndes Academy in tournament play this Thursday and Friday, March 4 and 5.