CARL JUNCTION — It didn't take long for Carl Junction's baseball team to extract revenge.
The Bulldogs scored in four of five innings and upended Carthage 12-2 on Tuesday afternoon in a Central Ozark Conference baseball opener for both teams.
Last Friday, the Tigers beat Carl Junction 5-4 in the championship game of the Bill O'Dell Tournament in Carthage. But in the rematch, the Bulldogs grabbed a 3-0 advantage in the first inning and never looked back, ending the game with four runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Noah Southern and Alex Baker drove in three runs apiece for the Bulldogs. Southern, who went 3 for 3, hit an RBI triple in the first inning and a two-run single to end the game in the fifth. Baker went 2 for 2 with a run-scoring double in the first and RBI single in the third. Another run scored when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth.
Carson Johnson also had three hits in three at-bats and scored three runs for Carl Junction, and Kyler Perry and Cole Stewart each had two hits and one RBI.
Drew Beyer pitched all five innings for the Bulldogs, allowing seven hits and two earned runs. He struck out seven batters and walked none.
Kaden Kralicek and Caden Kabance each had two hits for the Tigers, and Kralicek and Kaner Vogt both knocked in one run.
-Joplin Globe Sports Staff Reports