Tigers get back on track against St. James
Published 5:42 pm Monday, March 27, 2017
By Brandon Sumrall | Special to the Advertiser
Riding a four game losing streak, the Chilton County Tigers varsity baseball team picked up a pair of much needed wins over the St James Trojans on March 24, 3-1 and 13-8.
The Tigers got off to a quick start in game one, as Dustin Cleckler drove in the game’s first run on a infield ground ball and an RBI single by Gage Atcheson gave Chilton County an early 2-0 lead.
The Tigers two-run lead held through the next four innings, before a sacrifice fly to right and a double cut the CCHS lead to one.
After five, the Tigers held a 2-1 lead.
A three-up-and-three-down inning for the Trojans in the top of the sixth gave way to another run for Chilton County in the home half of the inning, when Hunter Henson crossed home plate via a Trojans error to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead.
A leadoff single by Collin Duncan to start the seventh gave the Trojans one aboard with no outs, but three consecutive outs brought game one to a close.
Noah McGhar handled the pitching duties for the Tigers in game one and pitched a complete game allowing one earned run, on four hits, with two walks and six strikeouts. Atcheson led CCHS at the plate in game one with a two-for-two performance with two singles and an RBI.
The Trojans struck first in game two with a RBI single, but the Tigers answered with three runs of their own in the home half of the first inning.
A bases loaded two-run single by Atcheson and a sacrifice fly by Cade Minor brought the first inning to a close with Chilton leading 3-1.
Both teams picked up one run in the second, as the Tigers got an RBI single by Keaton Sullivan to drive in Gabe Gray and make the score 4-2.
A scoreless top of the third saw the Tigers add one more run in the bottom half of the inning on a RBI single by Griffen Green that scored Cody Minor and extended the Tigers’ lead to three.
The Trojans tacked on two runs in the top of the fourth, but a big inning by the Tigers put Chilton County way out in front.
A two-run single by Green, two-run double by Hunter Henson, and a pair of RBI singles by Gray and Cleckler led the Tigers to an eight-run inning and a 13-4 lead.
A three-run top of the fifth for the Trojans cut the lead to six, but a single St. James run in the top of the sixth was not be enough to overtake the Tigers, as CCHS went on to win game two as well.
Rylee Thornton got the start on the mound for the Tigers and threw four innings while allowing one earned run on six hits, two walks and eight strikeouts.
Gray led the Tigers at the plate in game two with a three-for-four performance that included three singles and a RBI.