A stellar pitching performance by West Limestone Wildcat Colin Patterson combined with an offense that tallied 11 hits and seven runs, led the Wildcats to victory 7-1 against the West Morgan Rebels in their first area game on Wednesday at West Limestone High School.

Two consecutive singles in the first inning by West’s Patterson and Cooper Phillips were followed up with a third single by Ryan Britt, driving in Patterson for the first run of the game.

In the second inning, after Thorne Slaton reached base after getting hit by a pitch and a walk to Patterson, Phillips hit a double to center field, scoring two, giving the Wildcats a 3-0 advantage.

West Morgan’s only run came in the fourth on a dropped third strike to make it a 3-1 ballgame. But any sense of a comeback was halted throughout the game with Patterson’s performance on the mound. His final line for the game was six full innings of work, one hit allowed, one run, four walks and 12 strikeouts.

The Wildcats added two in the fourth and two in the sixth to bring the score to 7-1 before the closer, Logan Martin, came in striking out two of the three batters he faced, giving the Wildcats their 15th win of the year.

Phillips led the team with four hits and tied for the lead in RBI’s with Britt, driving in two runs apiece. Britt and Patterson each had two hits while Slaton and Ian Burroughs each finished with one hit. White and Braxton Griffin both added one RBI.

“Colin threw an outstanding game along with Logan coming in to get the last three outs. I was really proud of our guys at the plate,” West head coach Ryan Griffin said. “West Morgan has some really good arms and I thought we did well with that challenge especially Phillips and Britt with some key hits. I was proud of the guys energy all 7 innings.”

Now with a 1-0 conference record, it’s about moving to the next game and not letting up.

“With a three team area, every game is really important so we know we have to get ready for the next game because each one is very important,” Griffin said.