Thanks to a little cat and mouse and a Gene Studebaker homer, the Covington Buccaneers defeated Bethel, 5-4.

May 3, 2007 – BRANDT
Trailing Bethel 4-2 in the top of the sixth, Covington coach Mitch Hirsch used a little trickery to get his Buccs back into the game.

First, Gene Studebaker came to the plate with one out and belted a solo home run to left-center to cut the margin to 4-3.

After Bethel pitcher Craig Cornish struck out the next Covington batter, Drew Craft hit a two-out double to keep the inning alive. Brad Plank followed with a walk as Craft moved to third on a wild pitch to put runners at the corners.

Tyler Kanet came to the plate and fell into a hole with the count at one-and-two. Hirsch then sent in the sign.

"We ran a little first-and-third," described Hirsch. "We had Brad (Plank) get himself into a rundown and sent Drew (Craft) to home. Drew timed it perfectly and scored before they were able to catch Brad. That was a big play for us."

Covington used the momentum to score the winning run in the top of the seventh.

Tyler Kanet led the inning off with a single to right-center and was replaced by Arliss Clark, who came in as a pinch runner.

Darrell Thobe reach on a perfectly executed bunt to put runners at first and second.

Jordy Burelison sacrificed the runners to second and third and then Kyle Kanet connected on a base hit to score Clark.

Covington eventually loaded the bases, but couldn't extend the lead. But the damage was done as the Buccs needed just three outs to capture the win.

Those three outs didn't come easy as Bethel came to bat in the heart of the order with the three, four and five batters.

One of those batters, Mike Kley had already hit a homer and doubled earlier in the game. This time he hit a line shot over the Covington pitcher, Brad Plank, that appeared to be headed for center field.

Nate Lavey, the Buccaneers' second baseman somehow chased the ball down and made an off-balance throw to first. The throw was overthrown and Kley took off toward second in what appeared to be a huge momentum lift for the Bees.

But Covington catcher Tyler Kanet was there to back up the throw and drilled a dart to his brother, shortstop Kyle Kanet, at second to pick off Kley.

The Buccs then recorded the final out to seal the 5-4 victory.

"The play by Nate (Lavey) to stop that ball from going into the outfield was a huge defensive play," Hirsch said. "But for Tyler to back up the throw to first and then make that throw to get the runner was unbelievable. That likely saved the game right there."

With the way Cornish was pitching throughout the contest, the Buccaneers were fortunate to be in position at the end.

"Cornish threw very well for them (Bethel)," complemented Hirsch. "He kept us off balance over the first four or five innings and the kids were getting a little frustrated. But we made some adjustments and started hitting him in the sixth. He (Cornish) was hitting the outside corners and we were trying to pull the ball. We had the kids move up and crowd the plate. Once we did that we started to get some hits."

Covington's pitcher, Brad Plank also made life difficult on opposing hitters after struggling early in the contest. Despite giving up 10 hits, Plank didn't allow a run after the fifth. He went the distance in striking out four batters and walking none.

The Buccs improve to 15-3 on the season and 10-0 in the Cross County Conference. Covington hosts rival Newton on Saturday in a make-up game.

Scoring by innings:
Covington ..........0....1....0....1....0....2....1 - 5
Bethel .................0....2....0....1....1....0....0 - 4