Bennett baffles Suwannee, propels Lowndes to 3-1 win

Published 10:22 am Thursday, March 8, 2018

LIVE OAK, Fla. — Lowndes’ soft-tossing pitcher Austin Bennett had Suwannee completely confused on Wednesday.    

Taking over in the bottom of the third inning, Bennett did not allow a hit in five innings pitched. He helped the Vikings protect an early lead and cruise to a 3-1 win. 

Nine of the 15 outs he recorded were popups, mostly soft contact. 

“He was throwing a lot of off-speed and keeping us off-balanced,” said Bulldogs coach Justin Bruce. “We got overaggressive and fed right into what they were trying to do. It’s a frustrating night overall.”

Suwannee’s only hits came off of starter Cameron Carter in the first two innings — infield singles from Hueston Morrill and Ronnie Layton.  

The Vikings grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third inning after putting together four consecutive hits, three of which went for extra bases. Tyler Andrews’ two-run homer was the highlight of the inning. 

Suwannee got one run back in the sixth inning without picking up a hit. Morrill led off with a walk, stole second and then scored after back-to-back groundouts.  

Morrill’s pitching performance was one of the only bright spots for Suwannee. He came on in relief of Nolan Miller and stuck out eight of the nine batters he faced. 

UP NEXT: Suwannee is back in action tonight at Lafayette High School and will host Madison County on Friday.

The Bulldogs will then hit the road for three games next week during spring break.   

“A situation where we can have a lot of baseball, a lot of at-bats — try to get into a rhythm,” Bruce said. 

Box Score

Hitting

H Morrill — 1-1, 1 run, 2 stolen bases, 2 walks

Bonds — 0-3, RBI

Layton — 1-3

Pitching   

Miller — 4 IP, 6 hits, 3 runs, 4 k’s

H Morrill — 3 IP, 8 k’s, 0 hits