Diamond Dragons off to hot start, wrap up first week with wins
The Clinton Dragons dropped their season baseball opener at Northview Academy last Monday by a score of 3-2.
Northview scored twice in the bottom of the first to go up 2-0. That score held until the top of the sixth inning, when Reece Wilkerson singled to score Connor Moody to make it a 2-1 game.
Northview answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning to make it a 3-1 game. Clinton added a run in the top of the seventh, but that was as close as the Dragons could get.
The Dragons mustered only three hits, but held Northview to only two hits.
“Harrison Shelton had a no-hitter going into the sixth and we were losing 2-0,” said Rob Stacy, head coach of the Dragons.
“We made two boneheaded plays on a first and third play, basically allowing them to score runs, which were some things we covered in practice, so it was a little upsetting on that end,” he said.
“We had bases loaded once and hit into a double play, stranded runners twice at third base, and ended the game with the bases loaded with a fly out to right,” Stacy said. “We had plenty of opportunities to capitalize and win the game.”
Shelton took the hard-luck loss on the mound. He pitched all six innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits with six strikeouts.
Moody was 1-2 with a walk and a run scored. Wilkerson was 1-4 with an RBI, while Lowe was 1-3. Shelton had two walks, while Ethan Tinker, Eli Ellis, and Jackson Stiltner had one.
Last Wednesday, the Dragons fell to visiting Carter by a score of 11-0 as they were held hitless.
“That was their number one [pitcher],” Stacy said. “We knew going in we would probably see one of their better pitchers.
“They’re one of the teams that’s probably going to be top in their district, so we’re looking at them as one of the teams we might have to face in the regional [tournament],” he said. “They’re a very junior- and senior-heavy bunch, and we’re a very heavy freshman and sophomore bunch. That being said, we just didn’t take the correct approach that we worked on in [batting practice].”
He added that the baseball team made the trip Wednesday morning to Murfreesboro to support the Dragons basketball team at the state tournament. The game was originally scheduled to be played at Carter, but weather forced it be played in Clinton.
“Everything was kind of hectic for the guys,” Stacy said.
The Hornets scored four in the first and did not look back. They added six in the fourth and one in the fifth.
Blake Lowe took the loss as he went three innings and allowed six earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts and four walks.
Tinker pitched two innings and allowed four earned runs on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
Clinton picked up its first win of the season on Thursday with an 8-2 score over visiting Claiborne.
The Dragons plated five runs in the second, highlighted by a three-run homer from Lowe. Clinton never trailed, adding runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. The Bulldogs got two in the seventh.
“I’m really excited,” Stacy said. “Everything we were failing on as far as approach at what we were doing at the plate really came together.
“Blake Lowe hit his home run with two strikes, and that’s something we’ve been trying to implement and getting our kids to understand, being a better two-strike hitter.”
Starter Andrew Warshaw got the win as he pitched four innings and allowed three hits with six strikeouts and two walks. At the plate, he also added two RBI.
Lowe went 2-3 with a home run and three RBI.
Tinker and Wilkerson each went 1-2 with an RBI while Ellis added a double.
The Dragons added their second win of the week with an 8-6 victory at Claiborne on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the firs, but the Dragons tied the game with a run in the top of the third. Claiborne scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-1 lead.
Clinton scored a run in the top of the sixth to cut the Bulldogs’ advantage to 5-2. The Dragons then scored six runs in the top of the seventh to take an 8-5 lead. Claiborne scored a run in the bottom of the seventh, but the rally fell short.
“We faced a kid named Sonny Smith,” Stacy said. “He’s one of the top pitchers in East Tennessee on the 3A side of baseball. We knew going in we had to get his pitch count up.
“Our guys really took that approach the whole game. We hit him a little in the third inning and rattled him a little bit and got the pitch count even higher. We got him out and we knew against their bullpen we had a chance to win,” he said.
Shelton got the win in relief as he pitched two innings and allowed one earned run on one hit with two strikeouts and two walks.
Ellis got the save. He pitched one inning and allowed only one hit with one strikeout.
Starter Isaiah Slaven pitched four innings, allowing one earned run on six hits, five strikeouts and three walks.
Lowe, Ellis, Wilkerson, and Warshaw each had a hit and an RBI. Tinker and Sam Railey each had a hit, while Stiltner added an RBI.