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Kearns • It was a horrific start to the season, and there truly is not enough sugar to coat that fact. Kearns entered the year with fairly lofty expectations, and after 10 games — the Cougars had one win.
"We were confident in the beginning, but as the games progressed, we were weren't comfortable yet," said Kearns' Gaven Martinez.
But after capping a three-game sweep with a 12-2 mercy-rule win against Judge Memorial in five innings, the Cougars are relaxed and radiating with confidence.
"It feels great after getting swept by Murray," said Kearns coach Dave Ballard. "I'm just proud of our guys for coming back and getting done what they've had the ability to get done the whole time."
Kearns, which is returned to .500 in Region 6 and 4-9 overall, outscored the Bulldogs 33-15 in the series, with the entire lineup contributing to the offensive onslaught.
"It feels nice to come back out and get the sweep," said Martinez. "It really boosts up our confidence."
Judge Memorial (2-7, 0-3) drew first blood in the opening frame on Friday. After two preceding base hits, Joey Marcini ripped a two-out RBI single past Kearns pitcher TJ Haroldsen's outstretched glove.
Kearns immediately retaliated in the bottom half of the inning. Advancing to third on an errant pickoff attempt after reaching second safely on a leadoff stand-up double, Aaron Bass trotted home on Martinez's deep sacrifice-fly.
The Cougars ballooned their advantage to 5-1 after the second inning. Martinez drove in two more across the plate, while Hayden Royer and Alex Fitch each added an RBI single.
Fitch added another RBI in the fourth before the Cougars plated five runs in the ensuing inning to end their afternoon early.
"I think it puts us back on track. Who knows what happened [in] the eight-game slump," Ballard said. "We use charts, and we threw it all away because at that point all that was doing was showing us how bad we were, and we weren't that bad. We just told the kids, 'Come out and be the best team that day.'"
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
• After slumping through an eight-game slide, Kearns caps a three-game sweep against Judge Memorial with a mercy-rule win.
• The Cougars plated five runs in the fourth inning to end the game early.