Jack Bell (TCU) provided a spark at the bottom of the Y-D lineup in a 5-4 defeat against Orleans on Friday, launching a home run in the third inning and reaching base three times throughout the night.
Bell entered Friday’s game dealing with his fair share of struggles during July, as he was 3-for-34 at the plate in the month and had only one extra-base hit. Despite the slump, Bell still regularly worked long at-bats and maintained the same mindset.
“You just have to keep doing what you’re doing,” Bell said. “If you’re going 0-for, it doesn’t mean you have to change anything. It just means (you have to) focus on what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and win the battles within yourself. Once you do that, you can go out there and have fun.”
After the first seven Y-D hitters of the game were retired by Luke Pettitte (Dallas Baptist) on Friday, Bell snapped out of his slump in a huge way by getting his hands around a 3-1 fastball and scorching a line drive over the right field wall to put Y-D ahead 1-0. The blast marked Bell’s first long ball of the season and broke an 0-for-7 drought at the plate.
“(The mindset) was just see a fastball and get out in front,” Bell said. “I hit a line drive, and it ended up going over the fence, so that was awesome.”
Bell displayed some power during his impressive season at TCU this past year, when he recorded five home runs and 14 extra-base hits with an .830 OPS. Three of those extra-base hits came in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals against Arizona on May 24, as he collected two doubles and a triple to earn a spot on the Big 12 All-Tournament Team.
Bell’s home run on Friday was the launching point to a three-run inning for Y-D in the third. Jack Arcamone (Georgia) added a two-run shot of his own just three batters later to give Y-D a 3-0 advantage.
In his second at-bat of the game, Bell continued to set the table for the top of the Y-D order by drawing a five-pitch walk to lead off the fifth inning. He proceeded to make an impact with his speed, stealing second base and advancing over to third on a throwing error by Cashel Dugger (UCLA) behind the plate. The aggressive baserunning paid off when Brayden Dowd (USC) drove Bell in on an RBI double to extend Y-D’s lead to 4-0.
Bell continued his best day offensively of the summer in the seventh inning by hitting a sharp ground ball off the glove of Alejandro Garza (Cal Poly) at third base for an infield single, putting Bell on base for the third time in the contest.
Even with Bell’s big night at the plate, Y-D was unable to hold on to the lead in the late innings, dropping its second consecutive game in a 5-4 loss to the Firebirds. With a couple of off days coming due to the All-Star Game at Red Wilson Field on Saturday, Bell feels this break will present an opportunity for the team to reset after a tough loss.
“I think the two days off will be good for the team and give us a nice refresher,” Bell said. “When we get back, we’ll have our business rolling and hopefully get some wins.”
Following the All-Star break, Y-D will return to action when it hosts Wareham at 5 p.m. on Monday.
