It was a hot afternoon June 21 at Holcom as the Sidewinders and Baldwin Bulldogs prepared for a Heinrich League game, with temperatures hovering above 90 degrees at the start of the game.

The heat didn’t slow down the Sidewinders.

Sidewinders player Ben Wilson rounds third and heads for home during a Heinrich league game against the Baldwin Bulldogs on June 21 at Holcom. The Sidewinder won the game 12-2.

The team drank plenty of fluids in the dugout and got the job done on the field, cruising to a 12-2 victory.

The game was closer than the final score indicated, as the Bulldogs hung near the Sidewinders most of the way before the winning team exploded for an eight-run fifth inning.

The Sidewinders collected 13 hits in five innings of play, while pitchers Cameron Schmidt and John Flory combined to hold the Bulldogs to just one hit.

“I thought they played real well,” Sidewinders coach Ben Mugridge said.

“Defensively we played great. We pitched well and hit when we need to. All those wonderful things.”

In the first inning, Gabe Jacobson hammered a triple to right-centerfield to score Schmidt, and Flory singled to bring home Jacobson, putting the Sidewinders up, 2-0.

The Sidewinders kept the Bulldogs off the board in the bottom of the frame with some help from shortstop Sam Willoughby, who made a nice play on Jon Eddy’s ground ball to end the inning.

In the second inning, Bulldogs shortstop Andy Thurlow made a highlight-reel play on a groundball off the bat of Brett Anderson. Thurlow bobbled the ball initially, then recovered the ball by doing 360-degree spin move, firing the ball to first to beat the runner by a step.

The Bulldogs showcased their defensive prowess again in the third inning. After a wild pitch, Eddy ran to cover the plate and received catcher Alan Callahan’s throw just in time to tag out a sliding Schmidt, who was attempting to score from third base on the play.

The Bulldogs finally got on the board in the bottom of the third inning.

After walks by Casey George and Callahan, Thurlow delivered a two-out RBI double, scoring both George and Callahan.

Down 4-2, the Bulldogs looked to contain the Sidewinders’ offense in the fourth inning to give them a chance to rally and win the game. Callahan did his part, throwing out Flory trying to steal third base.

The Bulldogs held the Sidewinders scoreless in the inning and looked to come out and equalize in the bottom of the frame.

The Bulldogs were unable to capitalize, failing to produce any runs in their half of the inning.

The Sidewinders made the Bulldogs pay, scoring eight runs in the fifth inning and effectively putting the game out of reach.

After holding the Bulldogs scoreless in the bottom of the inning, the Sidewinders had the victory.

“We played them real well for four innings,” Bulldogs coach Wayne Briscoe said.

The game was the first of a doubleheader.

The Sidewinders won the second game, 21-0, in a warm-up for a USSSA AA Tournament in Salina last weekend.

Mugridge liked his team’s chances going into the tournament.

“If we keep playing like we are, we’ve got a chance to win some ballgames and get better,” he said.