Cats make it a dozen

The Colusa Cats American Legion baseball team swept a pair of games with Gridley on June 25 to put their record at 18-4 on the season.

Colusa defeated Gridley 12-4 in the first game and 6-3 in the second, giving the Cats 12 straight wins. A game with Hamilton, scheduled for June 27, was cancelled due to poor air conditions. Colusa will play in the Shasta Lake Bass Tournament in Redding starting on Thursday.

The Cats gradually built its lead in the first game, scoring three in the second inning, one in the third, three in the fourth, two in the fifth and three in the sixth.

Cody Hansen and Ottie Harris were both 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Memo Rodriguez and Josh Embree were both 1-for-2 with two runs scored.

Harris had the game’s best hit with a triple in the fourth inning. Darren Swearinger added a double in the sixth.

Both Tyler Wells and Steven Perry drove in two runs.

James Bowen went five innings for the win. He gave up one run on two hits with five strikeouts. Harris pitched the final two frames and gave up three runs on four hits with three strikeouts.

In the second game, Colusa took a 4-1 lead with four runs in the second inning. The Cats scored single runs in the third and fourth innings and held off a Gridley rally in the sixth to gain the 6-3 victory.

Hayden Meyers started the second inning with a double and he came home on Wells’ basehit. Wells scored on Swearinger’s double and he came home on Embree’s double in the next at-bat. Dylan DeWit finished the rally with a run-scoring double of his own.

Meyers drove in a run in the third with a basehit while Swearinger singled and scored on a passed ball in the fourth.

Gustavo Rangel started on the mound and went four innings to get the win. He gave up one run on three hits with nine strikeouts. DeWit pitched two innings and gave up two runs on one hit with two strikeouts while Embree threw a no-run, no-hit seventh.

Meyers and Swearinger both had two hits in the win. Brandon Rader joined Meyers, Swearinger, Embree and DeWit with doubles for the Cats’ best hits.