Diamond 'Dogs win one of two in classic's first day
Games wound up played to Driller due to weather
By MITCH LUCAS sports@kilgorenewsherald.com

When baseball season and bad weather collide, you never know what you'll get.

That was pretty much the theme surrounding the Kilgore High School Bulldogs' baseball program on Thursday. The Bulldogs had planned to participate in the Rose City Classic, an annual tournament played on a couple of fields in Tyler, this weekend. They certainly didn't plan on having to get Driller Park ready to play a game.

But that's exactly what happened. KHS coaches had the foresight to cover Driller's field with a tarp in case one or more of the Tyler tournament's games might be moved here due to rain. And they were. Instead of playing once Thursday, as was scheduled, the Bulldogs wound up playing twice: they beat Rockwall, 6-4, but lost to Haughton, La., 10-8.

The Bulldogs are now 2-1 on the season, and were to continue in the tournament - this time at Tyler - tonight at 8 p.m. against Shreveport Byrd. On Saturday, Kilgore is scheduled to play Greenville at 7 p.m. Both of those games will be played at Mike Carter Field.

Kilgore got a great performance, even in defeat, by catcher Chris Dudley, a junior, on Thursday. In spite of a bit of a sore knee, Dudley hit three home runs in the two games.

"He's swinging it real good," said Blackstone, in his second season as head coach. "He's doing great. His third home run, when he hit it, he kind of twisted his knee a little - he hobbled around the bases looking like Kirk Gibson, or something."

Dudley's first home run of the night was a tworun homer against Rockwall that tied the contest at four.

Kilgore added two more runs courtesy of Danny Sharpe, who doubled, then scored on a grounder by Trevor Moon, to give KHS the 5-4 lead. Moon then scored on an RBI single by Andrew Ector, and held on until the time limit. Trace DeBerry was the winning pitcher of record against Rockwall.

In the late, unexpected game, Kilgore led 8-1 in the seventh inning, but saw that lead slip away completely, and Haughton came back for a 10-8 win. The comeback overshadowed a good performance by Dudley, who had home runs in the first and the sixth inning. Steven McBryde took the loss for KHS.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to host Bullard on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and then will begin the Oil Belt Tournament next weekend here at Driller.