HOWARD – When a coach reaches 100 coaching wins, they have put a stamp on their team.
Highland baseball coach Donnie Kline crossed that milestone after his Fighting Scots won a hard-fought Knox Morrow Athletic Conference battle at East Knox. Randy Cain hit a two-run double in the top of the seventh that turned out to be the game winner in a 4-3 victory over the Bulldogs on Wednesday, April 7, in Howard.
Wyatt Groves and Owen Mott each had solid performances on the mound for Highland, which gave Kline his 100th victory at the school. Now in his seventh season as coach —counting last year's canceled season — Kline was quick to point out that those victories are a shared accomplishment.
“It’s more of a tribute to everyone you’re around,” he said. “Our coaching staff and these boys are fantastic. So are these families. At the end of it all, we have a lot of families that put their time and effort into baseball. I’m just the guy that fills out the lineup card. With good players, good coaches and good families, it makes my job very easy.”
The Scots (5-0, 2-0) led most of the way on a first-inning RBI single by third baseman Kadin Johnson. Two innings later, shortstop Rider Minnick scampered home on a Johnson groundout to put Highland up 2-0.
Catcher Luke Cain helped lead the way for the Scots with a pair of hits, and Minnick scored three runs.
“It was just a great game overall,” Luke Cain said. “I think we hit well. Our defense was a little shaggy, though — a lot of room for improvement.”
Groves yielded only one hit over 5 2/3 innings, striking out eight with no walks. All three Bulldogs runs were unearned.
By comparison, Bulldogs freshman Bryar Householder scattered seven hits and a walk over an impressive 6 2/3 innings.
“He’s more mature than most freshmen,” East Knox coach Randy Baugher said. “He played a lot of good ball in the summer at a pretty high level.”
Mott, a sidearmer, came on in relief of Groves in the sixth and was greeted with a 2-run double by Householder — who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs — that scored Weston Melick and Cole DeLaughder. Melick scored three runs for East Knox.
That gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. Mott was redeemed by Randy Cain’s game-winning double in the seventh. For his inning and a third, Mott picked up the win.
“I hung a curveball and the kid (Housholder) blasted it,” Mott said. “I’m still a little down on myself, but my teammates came back and scored a couple of runs. So I only had to go out there and finish the game for them.”
With the loss, the young Bulldogs fall to 1-5 and are winless in the conference. That includes an 8-0 loss to the Scots on Monday, April 5.
Randy Cain was jubilant for his team and his coach.
“It’s excellent,” he said. “(Coach Kline) really deserves this win.”
Groves, a senior, displayed an outstanding curveball. He, like everyone else, was impressed with the freshman Householder.
“(Householder) pitched well, but I knew with all the hard work I put in, I was up to the challenge,” Groves said. “I think we handled it pretty well as a team.”
