The Avery baseball teams continue to jump start their seasons with victories as Western Highlands Conference action prepares for the home stretch.Last Tuesday the 13th, the Vikings welcomed neighboring Mitchell to town. In the junior varsity contest the Vikings and Mountaineers managed to only play three innings before the game was halted by darkness. Mitchell held a 3-0 lead at the point the game was called, but Avery was poised to bounce back offensively to give the Mountaineers a run for their money.
Prior to the JV game, the varsity squads took the field under sunny skies. Through the first five innings of play, the Vikings dominated in virtually every facet of the game. Over the final two innings, however, the Avery bullpen surrendered a four-run lead, was given another lead of three runs, and surrendered seven Mountaineer runs in the top of the seventh inning as Mitchell defeated Avery 15-14.
Viking starter Daniel Huff was on his game during his outing on the mound, giving up only three runs over five innings of work. Huff helped himself in the bottom of the first inning from the plate, where he and teammate Steven Daniels hit back-to-back home runs to give the Big Red a 2-0 lead.
Mitchell plated two runs in the second to tie the game, only to see Avery score in the bottom of the frame to retake a 3-2 edge. The Mountaineers tied the game in the top of the third with a single run, but was held scoreless by the Viking hurler for the remainder of his outing.
The Vikings bounced back for a run to take a 4-3 lead in the third when C.J. Vance drew a walk and teammate Danny Cole scored him with an RBI double. Two innings later the Vikings padded their lead with three runs to build a four-run advantage. Nine Avery hitters came to the plate in the frame.
Starter Huff was replaced in the top of the sixth as the Vikings were slated for three games and coach Benny Wellborn worked to keep his pitchers available for the long week. Avery’s relief pitching had a bumpy road over the final two innings, and its defense did not help matters, either. Avery struggled to make simple plays like infield throws and fielding a ground ball. Mitchell capitalized with five runs in the top of the sixth to take its first lead at 8-7.
Undaunted, Avery battled back to regain an 11-8 lead with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. In the top of the seventh and final inning, Avery quickly gained two outs on the Mountaineers and had the win in hand. A fielding error gave Mitchell life, however, and they took advantage to the tune of seven runs in the seventh to lead 15-11.
Avery mounted one final charge in the bottom of the seventh, as a three-run home run by Huff, his second dinger of the day, drew Avery within one run. Mitchell rose to the task and managed to retire the Avery lineup for a third out before giving up the tying run, leaving the heartbroken Big Red one run short.
“The guys battled back and got us back in the game, but it was a tough outcome,” Vikings head coach Benny Wellborn said of the defeat. “We hit the ball well, but didn’t pitch and didn’t field well. You have to make routine plays, and when we don’t do that we’re not going to win ballgames.”
The following afternoon the Vikings traveled to
Avery led 3-2 after one inning and scored three
additional runs to take a 6-2 edge. Madison scored a run in the bottom of the second to cut the margin to 6-3, but Avery batted around in the key top of the third inning, scoring five times to take a commanding 11-3 advantage.Madison
Dustin Clark was a one-man wrecking crew, going 4 for 4 from the plate and driving in six runs for the Big Red. Walker Carswell reached base three times in the game and scored twice in the win.
“I think for the most part the kids responded to my challenge to them before the game. Bennett Sweat pitched a really good game and was able to control hitters. We did the little things right, putting the ball in play and running the bases,” JV head coach Samuel Phillips said after the win. “Dustin Clark had a great game and he’s really been coming on for us as of late and helped us a lot. It’s been a long road for these kids and for me, but we’re seeing improvements as we go along.”
The varsity game between Madison and Avery was also a nip-and-tuck affair, with the Patriots holding on to take an 11-9 win.
Avery began the scoring spree with three runs in the first inning. The key hit in the frame was a three-run double by pitcher Jared Clark which put the Vikings on the board.
Madison
The Vikings left runners on base in each of the next three innings, but could bring no runs home to extend its total.
In the top of the fifth the Vikings offense kicked back into attack mode and plated four runs. Huff reached on an error and scored on Daniels’ third base hit of the game to cut the Patriots lead to one. Jack Buchanan then singled to score pinch runner Luke Pittman to tie the game, and later himself scored on an RBI ground out by C.J. Vance. By the bottom of the frame, the Big Red was ahead again by a 7-5 margin.
Madison
The score remained unchanged until the top of the seventh as the Vikings tried to stage a rally. Avery scored twice in the inning as Daniels and Buchanan each reached base and scored. But much like the day before, Avery came up just short in its comeback bid, falling by the 11-9 score.
“We bounced back pretty well from the Mitchell game. I gave the ball to Jared and asked him to show me what he was made of, and he threw a good five innings for us and left with a lead,” Coach Wellborn said. “Like the Mitchell game it was back-and-forth and neither team quit. We made five or six errors and it seemed like each one cost us a run. We have two out of the three things we need to be successful, but we still lost. You’ve got to be able to field routine plays, put the ball in play, and throw strikes. We also have to stay out of the big inning.”
Friday was a tough day all around for Avery baseball, as the Owen Warhorses came to town and routed both Avery’s varsity and junior varsity clubs. Avery’s varsity team fell by a lopsided final score of 32-4, while the junior varsity team was blanked by a final score of 25-0.
Owen’s teams sprayed the field with base hit after base hit. Unlike previous contests, the Avery defense did not direction contribute to Owen’s success.
A lone bright spot for the varsity team was back-to-back singles from Daniel Huff and Ethan Sluder, followed by a three-run home run to right field by the hot bat of catcher Steven Daniels to account for three of the four Viking runs. Unfortunately for the home clubs, the visitors were simply too strong for the Vikings to contend with on Friday afternoon.
This past Monday the Vikings hosted the Cloudland Highlanders in a non-conference tilt, winning by a final score of 19-9.
Avery scored seven runs through the first two innings before Cloudland rallied with for a pair in the top of the third. The Vikings broke the game open with a strong third inning. Eleven batters came to the plate in the inning and five runners crossed the plate, highlighted by a towering home run to dead center field from Daniel Huff to stake the Vikings to a 12-2 edge. Huff reached safely in each of his five plate appearances and scored all five times, Teammate Ethan Sluder, hitting in the spot ahead of Huff, drew three walks, was hit by a pitch, and reached on an error. He too scored all five times he reached base safely.
With their backs against the wall, the ‘Landers battled back with six runs in the top of the fourth. Avery committed three errors in the frame which led to prolonging the inning as Cloudland cut the margin to 12-8.
Needing to jump start the offense again in a close game, Avery sent another ten hitters to the plate in the bottom of the fourth and scored five runs to lead 17-8.
In the top of the fifth the ‘Landers plated a run as Casey Pritchard scored after being hit by a pitch. Pritchard homered earlier in the game to provide offensive punch for the boys from
In the bottom of the inning, the Vikings sealed the win with a pair of runs, the second coming on a steal of home by Huff off a failed squeeze bunt attempt, providing for the game’s final margin.
“We kind of throttled down when we were ahead 12-1. We had chances to advance base runners, but didn’t do so. They came in and had their big inning which built their confidence and helped them get back into the ballgame. I told the guys we needed to pick it up and get after it,” Coach Wellborn said after the game. “Our team responded well. They had some guys struggle a little on the mound that we took advantage of. The kids’ spirits were high after Friday’s game despite the loss, and this was one of those games that our players expect to win. They came in ready to play, and for them it is not acceptable mentally to lose this game. We just hit the ball well from one through nine in the batting order.”In the junior varsity matchup, the Vikings defeated the Landers going away by the final score of 11-1. Avery’s Grant Norman got the starting nod on the mound for his first high school start and pitched two thirds of an inning. Dillon Nelson came on in relief, struck out the side in the second inning, and finished the contest to complete the victory.
Dustin Clark had two hits in the win, while Ty McCoury and Tyler Edwards each had a base hit to help lead the Big Red attack.
“We swung the bat very well as a team,” JV head coach Samuel Phillips said after the win. “We made plays in the infield we needed to make, and I was really pleased with our swings and plate discipline. This, along with the
The Avery teams return to the diamond to host Thomas Jefferson on Wednesday April 21st and host
