Holcomb baseball beats Naylor, Campbell in Friday doubleheader

HOLCOMB – The Hornets baseball team (6-3) raced past Naylor to win 8-2, and then won a “dogfight” game against district rival Campbell in a home doubleheader.

The Hornets hit the board first against Naylor in the first inning as Bryce McNabb found home on a fly out from his brother, Payton.

“Against Naylor, we did a good job of getting the ball in play,” Holcomb coach Michael Snider said. “It was frustrating to watch, because the balls we hit really hard got caught and we got out on. But the balls we didn’t hit that great it seemed like we managed to get on base.”

Payton was the first of three pitchers tested Friday afternoon. He pitched three innings for 58 throws and 31 strikes. McNabb allowed no hits, three walked batters and a run before being relieved by Trey Moody, who in turn was relieved by Noah Kenner to finish out the game.

Bryce led Holcomb with three runs on two hits, and Payton followed closely with two runs. The Hornets added two runs to their total in the third inning to the Eagles’ one, three more unanswered runs in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Holcomb's Bryce McNabb runs to first after a hit against Campbell Friday, April 7, 2023.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

“Today was a day I felt like every opportunity we had someone on third with less than two outs, we were able to put the ball in play and we were able to score a run,” Snider said. “We applied a lot of pressure in both games, so hopefully we’re seeing and understanding that we can do that and that the kids enjoy it.”

Payton’s time on the mound wasn’t over yet, but he wouldn’t throw another pitch until the seventh inning of the Hornets’ next game against Campbell.

Hunter Lawrence took over for almost the entirety of the second game. He hasn’t been the face of Holcomb’s pitching staff consistently, but that’s not due to talent level.

“When Hunter is on the mound and he’s in a groove, he’s very, very good,” Snider said. “Every now and then in the last year, he’s just been phenomenal. Last year right before his injury, he struck out 16 or 17 guys in the game before in that doubleheader.”

Lawrence pitched for 6.1 innings and threw 108 total pitches with 63 strikes and 17 strikeouts against Campbell. He allowed two hits, two walked batters, zero errors and zero runs.

While his stats speak for themselves, Lawrence missed most of the season last spring because of a torn meniscus he suffered in a doubleheader early on a year ago. He also didn’t spend much time on the mound in the Hornets’ fall outing this year due to shoulder issues.

“I know he’s capable of it,” Snider said. “But tonight, he was phenomenal. Overall he was locating, doing everything we wanted him to do up there. When he’s in a groove we can all kind of sit back and watch. Tonight he was feeling really good and it showed.”

With the Hornets’ defense working behind Lawrence, Matthew Russom stole home and Trey Moody scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second to take the lead for the first time.

Their next run wouldn’t come until the bottom of the sixth, when Payton doubled on a drive to right field and brought Bryce home. An out later, Barry Privett brought in Jaxsten Swims-Pikey with a fly ball to center field.

A Campbell player tracks a foul ball during an at bat against Holcomb.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

Bryce and Payton McNabb, Barry Privett and Stephen Bradshaw all chipped in one of Holcomb’s four hits on the day. Campbell’s two hits came from Melvin Jackson and Sam Bunting.

After Lawrence hit his mandated limit, Payton wrapped up the game on the mound with two consecutive strikeouts, not missing a beat from the first challenge of the night.

Holcomb hosts Greenville Thursday and Puxico Friday. Campbell hosts Caruthersville Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.