The Bell County baseball team wrapped up their trip to Virginia Beach on Thursday, where they battled three teams from the state. During the stretch, the Bobcats went 2-1 opening the week with a close loss to Norcom before easily dispatching Washington and Norview.

After picking up two wins at the beach, Bell County has completed its best start through the first six games since 2009 — a year where the Bobcats finished 20-8, won the 52nd District title and earned a trip to the 13th Region championship.

Game 1: Norcom 9, Bell County 7

Bell County’s only hiccup during it’s trip to Virginia Beach was on the the first day (April 3). The Bobcats grabbed an early 6-0 lead in the second before the Greyhounds battled back scoring five runs across the third and fourth innings.

After Bell increased their lead to 7-5, Norcom tied the game at 7-all on a two-run single from Kaisan Williams. The Greyhounds secured the victory after scoring two more runs in the sixth.

Jordan Wombles paced Bell at the plate going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run. Chandler Mink tallied one hit, two RBIs and one run.

Jason Jones picked up the loss on the mound for the Bobcats allowing one hit and four runs through one inning. DJ Estes started the game for Bell and allowed only one hit and zero runs through two innings.

For Norcom, Charles Jackson-Hicks was credited with the win after surrendering one run and two hits across five innings. He struck out 10 batters and walked only one.

Game 2: Bell County 15, Norview 5

Big innings in the second and fifth allowed Bell County to cruise to a 15-5 victory over Norview on Wednesday. The game wasn’t ever in much question with the Bobcats never leading by less than three runs after taking over the lead in the second.

Bell County was hot at the plate tallying 17 hits on the day. Ethan Brock drove in six runs on three hits to pace Bell. He tallied a run of his own as well.

Chandler Mink registered three runs on one hit. Jacob Smith was also consistent at the plate going 3-for-5 on the day with one RBI and a run.

DJ Estes picked up the victory on the mound allowing eight hits and five runs over six innings of work. He also struck out six batters while walking only one.

The Bobcats seized control of the game in the second inning scoring six runs before the final out was thrown. An RBI single from Jason Jones tied the game at 1-1. An RBI double from Alex Mays gave Bell a 2-1 lead.

An RBI by Estes increased the Bobcat lead to 3-1. A two-run RBI by Brock ballooned the lead to 5-1 before Smith hit an RBI single to cap off the inning with Bell leading 6-1.

Bell added another run in the third to widen the margin to 7-1. After giving up two runs in the bottom half of the third, the Bobcats outscored the Pilots 8-2 through the final two innings to secure the 10-run victory.

Game 3: Bell County 25, Washington 2

The easiest game for the Bobcats came in their final outing of the trip on Thursday. Bell County never trailed against Washington on their way to a 25-2 victory.

The Bobcat bats were on fire with Bell tallying 22 hits on the day. Jason Jones, Ethan Brock and Jacob Smith couldn’t miss with the three combining for 12 hits, 16 RBIs and 13 runs. Jones led the Bobcats going 4-for-5 with six RBIs and three runs.

Smith finished a perfect 4-for-4 with five RBIs and five runs. Brock wrapped up the trip to Virginia Beach with four hits, five RBIs and five runs. Chandler Mink was also impressive on the day going 3-for-6 with two RBIs and three runs.

Jones was credited with the victory on the mound surrendering two runs on two hits across five innings of work. He struck out eight batters.

The Bobcats jumped out to a 10-1 lead through the first two innings. Bell County secured the game in the third scoring 10 run to give the team a 20-1 lead. The Mighty Bookers scored their final run in the bottom half of the third to cut the lead to 20-2.

The Bobcats ended the game with five runs in the fifth to secure the 23-run victory.

Up Next

Bell County (4-2) was slated to play J. Frank White Academy on Monday. They are set to host Oneida Baptist Institute at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Reach Anthony Cloud at 606-302-9090 or on Twitter @AnthonyCloudMDN