Covington goes “back to the basics” in district win over Munford

After dropping to Munford 6-1 on Monday night at home, Covington was on the brink of being swept by both county rivals. Brighton went 2-0 in their series game last week.

With Tuesday’s game being in the Cougar den, the chances of them winning were slim.

How did they approach that game? By going back to the basics. Which led to their 5-4 win over a district foe.

“We just sat down, and we kind of went back to the basics today before we came out,” Covington Head Coach Brad Warmath explained on how they won. “Basically, I was taking things for granted, so we went back to basics today before we ever started practice.”

With two outs in the bottom of the first, Owen Boswell and Harrison Pollina each smacked a hard single to center fielder Braden Gover to put a pair of runs up.

After a silent second, hits from Holden Warmath and Gover tied the ballgame at 2-2 with runs from Chris Smith and Warmath.

A miscommunication led to Covington senior Parker Davis sprinting home after Dylan Phillips launched a ball past second base in attempts to tag out Smith.

Lane Butler added two more runs when he landed a ball out behind second baseman Brodie Fortner.

In the bottom of the sixth, singles from Pollina and Phillips, plus a walk from Sidney Hayes put the Chargers in a situation with the Cougars’ top three batters up next.

Noah Lowry was walked, and Chase Spears punched one to left field and drove an RBI in. The inning finished with Owen Geiger grounding out to third basemen Smith.

Lowry, who relieved Geiger, pitched a quick three-in and three-out and it was all in the hands of Davis to finish the game out.

Davis, who has been struggling on the mound this season, found the strike zone and surrendered three consecutive players to seal the win.

“I was kind of apprehensive of putting him in that situation, but I wanted him to know that I got all the confidence in the world of him,” Brad Warmath said about putting Davis in relief. “He came in, did a good job, finished it out right there for us, and got the save for us. That’s a big win.”

Butler got the win on the mound, sending seven batters back to the dugout with nine hits. Geiger took the loss with eight strikeouts.

Covington moves on the 3-3 in the district and finishes district play with Haywood starting next Monday. Even as heavy favorites over the team from Brownsville, Brad knows that he can’t take them lightly.

“We can’t take anything for granted now, and I think our kids understand that right now,” He stated.