Baseball Downs ‘Dogs, Drops Conference Contests

The Avery varsity baseball team spent a busy week on the diamond with three games in four days last week.

Last Tuesday, March 16^th, the Vikings opened Western Highlands Conference play with a game at Owen High School, falling by a 10-0 score in four innings.

Avery threatened to score in both the first and second innings by moving runners to first and second base, but Owen defense and starting pitcher Johnathan Grove quelled both opportunities.

Owen scored three runs in the first inning and three in the second frame, with a run in the third and another three in the fourth and final frame to earn the win. The Owen offense mustered only four hits for the game against Avery pitchers Daniel Huff, Jared Clark, and Steven Daniels.

“We used a rotation of pitchers in the game to give Owen only one look at a pitcher, and we played halfway decent at Owen, even though the score doesn’t show it,” Avery head baseball coach Benny Wellborn said after the contest. “We pitched well and had seven strikeouts on a pretty good hitting Owen team. Unfortunately we were putting pitchers in during difficult situations, like with the bases loaded. If you look at things, the actual score probably should have been 6-0, and that’s with a three-run home run. We made some mistakes that cost us big.”

On St. Patrick’s Day the Vikings ventured across the state line to Hampton (TN) to take on the Bulldogs, winning an exciting game 11-10.

Dustin Childress got the starting nod for the Vikings and pitched well with 11 strikeouts, included six in the first three innings, in a complete-game effort.

Avery threatened in the first inning by loading the bases, but was unable to cash in for any runs. Hampton also had an early opportunity in the bottom half of the inning, but left two runners stranded.

The Bulldogs drew first blood in the bottom of the second inning, scoring a run despite a pair of other potential runs getting out at home plate in the frame.

The Vikings took their first lead at 2-1 in the top of the third. A leadoff double from catcher Steven Daniels was followed by an RBI single from Jared Clark. Jack Buchanan reached base on a throwing error and Remington Austin singled. Clark came around to score, giving the Vikings a 2-1 advantage.

Hampton continued to play hard and regained a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third, but Avery answered with a four-run fourth inning as the Vikings batted around in the frame. Five hits and a pair of walks sparked the rally as Danny Cole, Steven Daniels, Jared Clark, and Jack Buchanan each came around the diamond to plate runs that gave the Vikings a 6-3 margin.

Undaunted, Hampton responded with its own four-run outburst to lead 7-6, but the Big Red offense continued to produce, scoring a tying run in the top of the fifth to make the score 7-7. Childress retired the Bulldogs 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning and the Vikings scored twice in the top of the sixth to lead 9-7.

Hampton cut the deficit to 9-8 on an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth, but Avery picked up much needed insurance runs in the seventh thanks to the bottom of the batting order. Luke Pittman drew a walk to lead off the inning, followed by a double by Dustin Childress, a single by C.J. Vance, and a single from Jack Buchanan.

The runs proved valuable as Hampton struck back for two in the bottom of the final frame, but Childress induced a groundout from Hampton cleanup batter Taylor Edwards to end the game and pick up the win.

“The guys battled in a back and forth game. We caught fire and showed heart and emotion,” Coach Wellborn stated after the win. “We made some mistakes but were able to capitalize on some of their mistakes, and I give our guys credit for that.”

C.J. Vance and Dustin Childress each picked up two hits, while Jared Clark and Steven Daniels combined to go 6 for 8 from the plate in the contest.

On Friday afternoon Avery traveled to Forest City to take on Thomas Jefferson in a 1A duel. Thomas Jefferson took advantage of some Viking miscues to grab an early lead. Avery battled back to cut the lead, but fell in an 8-5 loss.

The Vikings went down in order in the first frame, while the Gryphons struck for three in the bottom of the inning off Avery starter Daniel Huff to take a 3-0 lead.

Huff helped his own cause with a leadoff double in the top of the second but was left stranded as Gryphon starter Caleb Bishop struck out the side to end the rally. TJCA also saw its leadoff hitter reach safely in the bottom of the second, but Huff induced a groundout and struck out two batters to keep the game a three-run affair.

Avery’s offense began clicking in the top of the third after a one-out double by Luke Pittman. Danny Cole singled and stole second, and Ethan Sluder knocked in both runners with a double through the gap in left center field, cutting the lead to only one at 3-2.

TJCA picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the third on an RBI single from Mark Trimble. Trimble managed to himself score after a pair of wild pitches thrown by Viking reliever Jared Clark, boosting the Gryphon advantage to 5-2.

Avery stranded runners in both the fourth and fifth innings and was unable to score. In the bottom of the fourth, TJCA batted around the order and extended its lead with three runs to 8-2.

The greatest threat for a big inning from the Vikings came in the top of the sixth, when three runs crossed the plate. A pair of singles led off the inning. After a walk from C.J. Vance, Luke Pittman came through with a two-run single scoring Dillon Beam and Jack Buchanan. Two batters later Vance scored on a Sluder single to cut the lead to three.

TJCA eventually retired the side with no further damage, and held Avery scoreless in the top of the seventh to seal its first-ever Western Highlands Conference baseball victory.

“They got three in that first inning and jumped on us. We battled a bit but we’re struggling hitting in key situations and over-swinging a little bit,” a disappointed Coach Wellborn said following the loss. “Ethan got on track and hit the ball well tonight. Luke hit the ball a little bit, and found another pitcher in Dillon who can throw strikes. He hasn’t even thrown a bullpen from us. Three games put us in a tough position, but we’ve got to do the little things in order for us to win, and right now we’re struggling to do that.”

The Vikings fell 11-0 in five innings in a conference game at Hendersonville Tuesday afternoon. The squad will look to get back on the winning track against defending conference champion Polk County in Columbus on Friday afternoon.