WOODS CROSS -- The Woods Cross High School baseball team is looking a lot different this year than in years past. Coach Brandon Critch-ley has the Wildcats believing they can win and they nearly pulled off a mini-upset over 3-A baseball power Tooele this past Tuesday afternoon at Woods Cross in a 7-5 loss. The loss dropped Woods Cross to 2-2 so far this preseason. The Wildcats now have two losses by a grand total of three runs to both Davis and Tooele. The Buffaloes won their first game of the season and improved their record to 1-1. Tooele still looks like a good ball club this year and was fortunate to come out with the victory Tuesday. Tooele tallied seven runs on seven hits while they allowed five runs on 11 hits from Woods Cross. Tyson Bell and his two doubles for the game led the Wildcats. A Bell at-bat seemed to spell another Woods Cross rally every time he came up to the plate Tuesday.

Gavin Johnson started on the mound for Woods Cross. The big right-hander pitched effectively the first two innings until running into some trouble in the third and fourth innings.

He allowed five Tooele runs to cross the plate in the third alone before allowing two more in the fourth inning and being relieved when down 7-3. That was all for Tooele the rest of the game and their lack of run production the final three innings allowed the Wildcats to creep back into the game.

The fifth and sixth innings saw Woods Cross score one run in each of those innings to inch back closer at 7-5 heading into the decisive seventh inning. Tooele did nothing to shut the door in the top of the seventh and gave way to the Wildcat bats for the bottom of the seventh.

A lot of things happened in the final at-bat of the game and Woods Cross eventually found themselves with the bases loaded and two outs with Johnson up to bat. Johnson didn't get cheated on the at-bat, but he sharply hit a ground ball straight to the Tooele second baseman who fielded and fired to first to get a head-first diving Johnson out for the final out of the game.

The Wildcats have one more preseason tomorrow at Grantsville before they open up the Region 5 season next Tuesday at Bountiful.