Devin Coulter looks comfortable as a starting member of the varsity baseball team. Even if he’s only a freshman.
Coulter smacked a single off the shortstop’s glove in the bottom of the seventh inning to bring home pair of runs and cap Houston’s 5-4 come-from-behind victory Thursday against Mountain Grove in the third-place game of the SCA tournament.
Coulter, who doubled off the left-field fence earlier in the game, connected with the first pitch he saw to complete the Tigers’ rally from a 4-1 deficit.
“He definitely can handle the pressure,” Tigers coach Brent Hall said. “He doesn’t look overmatched.”
Ava, which defeated Houston 3-1 in Tuesday’s semifinals, beat Cabool to win the tournament championship.
On Tuesday, Houston lost 8-0 at Rolla.
The Tigers’ comeback began when freshman Quinton Alston reached on an error. Lucas Cooperman singled and Kaleb Poynter doubled home a run to make it 4-2.
Eli Smith walked to load the bases and after a strikeout, Ethan Williamson also walked to bring home a run.
That brought Coulter to the plate. His single brought home Poynter and Smith with the game-winning runs and set off a wild celebration.
Starting on a varsity team is nothing new for Coulter. He was also a starter on the Tigers’ varsity basketball team.
“This first week he hasn’t played like a freshman,” Hall said.
Poynter had three of Houston’s season-high 10 hits. The Tigers (2-2) had managed just six total hits their previous two games.
Cooperman, Coulter and Rodney Preheim had two hits apiece. Cooperman scored twice.
Poynter struck out 12 batters and allowed two earned runs in the complete-game victory. He scattered six hits, walked four and hit two batters.
“He got in a couple jams and gave up a few more baserunners than we wanted,” Hall said. “But he kept battling and kept us in the game.”
With Houston trailing 2-0 in the fifth, Cooperman singled with one out and scored on Smith’s fielder’s choice.
Mountain Grove stretched the lead to 4-1 by sending eight batters to the plate in the top of the seventh. Poynter limited the damage with a bases-loaded strikeout to end the inning.
Trailing by three runs, the Tigers rallied to win it.
“We didn’t get down on ourselves.,” Hall said. “We just kept playing. With the combination of some breaks, misplays by Mountain Grove and some hits by us, we came through when we needed to.”
On Tuesday, Houston committed four errors — leading to five unearned runs — in a road loss at Rolla.
Cooperman went 2-for-4 with a double for the Tigers. Poynter and Aaron Cantrell both singled to account for Houston’s other hits.
Cooperman took the loss, giving up five hits and seven runs — two earned — in three innings. Cantrell, a freshman, gave up four hits and one earned run in three innings of relief. Neither pitcher struck out a batter.
Box scores
Tuesday’s game
Houston 000 000 0 — 0 4 4
Rolla 133 001 x — 8 9 2
hhs (2-2) ab r h bi rhs ab r h bi
Cprmn p 4 0 2 0 Andrsn 2b 3 0 0 1
Coulter 3b 4 0 0 0 Grishim cf 3 2 1 0
Poynter 2b 3 0 1 0 Zehsko p 3 0 0 0
Smith ss 3 0 0 0 Yorks dh 4 1 3 1
Wllmsn 1b 2 0 0 0 Moengn 1b 4 1 2 0
Preheim rf 3 0 0 0 Martin 3b 3 1 1 1
McCarthy c 2 0 0 0 Hughes 3b 3 1 1 1
Keeney c 1 0 0 0 Scholl c 3 1 1 0
Durbin cf 3 0 0 0 Skaggs rf 2 0 0 1
Alston lf 1 0 0 0
Cantrell p 2 0 1 0
Totals 28 0 4 0 Totals 27 8 9 4
2B: Cooperman. SB: Grishim, Yorks, Hughes, Scholl.
houston ip h r er bb so
Cooperman, L 0-2 3 5 7 2 3 0
Cantrell 3 4 1 1 2 0
rolla ip h r er bb so
Zehsko, W 5 2 0 0 0 4
Anderson 2 2 0 0 1 2
HBP: Slaggs (by Cooperman)
Thursday’s game
SCA tournament
Grove 011 000 2 — 4 6 4
Houston 000 010 4 — 5 10 4
mg (1-2) ab r h bi hhs (2-1) ab r h bi
Marler 2b 3 0 0 0 Cooprmn 1b 2 2 2 0
Creed ph 1 1 1 0 Poynter p 4 1 3 1
Andrsn ss 4 0 0 0 Smith ss 3 1 0 1
Lada 3b 3 1 0 0 McCarthy c 3 0 0 0
Kenndy cf 3 1 0 0 Wllmsn 2b 3 0 0 1
Lada rf 4 0 1 1 Coulter 3b 4 0 2 2
Otwell c 4 0 2 1 Preheim rf 3 0 2 0
Dobson p 3 0 2 0 Durbin cf 3 0 1 0
Unger 1b 2 1 0 0 Alston lf 2 1 0 0
Emery lf 1 0 0 0
Freemn ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 29 4 6 2 Totals 27 5 10 5
2B: Otwell, Poynter, Coulter. SB: Creed. CS: Durbin.
mtn. grove ip h r er bb so
Dobson 4.1 6 1 0 4 2
Lada, L 2.0 4 4 3 2 2
houston ip h r er bb so
Poynter, W 1-0 7 6 4 2 4 12
HBP: Dobson, Unger (by Poynter).