Mavs add another district win but then drop district game to Halls
The Anderson County Mavericks fell to visiting Halls by a score of 5-2 Monday night.
The Red Devils scored a run in the top of the second to take the early lead, but the Mavericks scored twice in the bottom of the third when Hayden Hartgrove reached on an error. Luke Lowery then tripled to score him. Hudson Hartgrove then grounded out to score Lowery.
The lead was short-lived as Halls added a run in the top of the fourth and another in the top of the fifth before closing out the game with two in the top of the seventh.
Anderson County was held to just two hits and had only four baserunners in the game.
“It was a really good baseball game,” said Josh Boynton, head coach of the Mavs.
“Halls had five hits and we had two. It was a good pitcher’s duel. Wyatt threw pretty well. He did have a few walks. Defensively, we played clean for the most part. A couple cost us late, though.”
Wyatt Cox took the loss. He pitched six innings and allowed one earned run on three hits with seven strikeouts and five walks.
Lowery finished 1-3 with a triple and an RBI, while Bryson Wolfenbarger collected the only other hit for the Mavs.
Anderson County moved to 3-0 in district play with an 18-2 thrashing of Scott last Tuesday evening to open a busy week.
“Everything was clicking,” Boynton said. “We had confidence going in and hit the ball well. We threw a sophomore, Morgan Clark got his first high school start and he threw it well.”
The Mavs scored two in the first and a run in the second before unleashing 11 runs in the bottom of the third. They tacked on four in the fourth to end the offensive onslaught.
Morgan Clark got the start and the win as he pitched all five innings and allowed no earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts and one walk. He was 1-1 at the plate with a double and RBI.
Lowery, Wolfenbarger, Cox, Hudson Hartgrove, Thor Williams, Eli Davis, and Trent Strickland each had two hits and all had at least one extra base hit.
Williams, Wolfenbarger, , Davis, Cox and Logan Housewrighteach had at least one RBI.
In three regular-season games, the Mavs scored 48 runs against the Highlanders.
The Mavs opened play in the East Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Tournament last Thursday at Maryville.
Blount County was not kind to Anderson County.
The Mavs fell to Maryville 7-5 in six innings.
The Red Rebels posted nine runs in the second and added five more in the third. They tacked on two more in the fourth.
The Mavs scored a run in the third and two in the fifth.
“We struggled,” Boynton said. “Guys just didn’t hit it. Unlike us, we made four or five errors. Defense wasn’t there.”
Hayden Hartgrove went 2-3 with a double and two runs scored. Williams went 1-3 with an RBI and stolen base. Lowery, Housewright, Davis, and Strickand each had a hit for the Mavs.
In the second game of the evening, Sweetwater topped Anderson County by a score 7-5.
After the Mavs scored two runs in the top of the first, the Wildcats answered with two runs to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the fourth when Sweetwater pushed across a run to take a 3-2 lead. They added three runs in the fifth to extend their lead to 6-2. The Mavs tied the game with three runs in the top of the fifth but the Wildcats scored in the bottom of the inning to get the win.
“Sweetwater is ranked in the Top 10 of the state in 2A,” Boynton said.
“It was a good game for us. Gavin Hill did enough to keep us in the game. We had opportunities in the first couple of innings. We just couldn’t bust through.”
Gavin Hill took the loss. He pitched four innings and allowed two earned runs on nine hits with a strikeout.
Housewright went 2-3 with a double and an RBI, while Wolfenbarger went 1-3 with a double and an RBI. Cox was 1-3 with an RBI. Strickland also had an RBI.
On Friday, the Mavs played William Blount at Heritage and won 12-3.
After scoring five in the first, Anderson County added two runs each in the second, third, and fourth.
Cox pitched 1.2 innings and got the win. He allowed no earned runs on one hit.
Hayden Hartgrove, Hudson Hartgrove, Aydin Bond, and Wolfenbarger each had two hits.
“I think it rained the entire game,” Boynton said. “It was cold and the wind was blowing. It was brutal conditions. We put them away early. They didn’t look like they wanted to be there.”
The Mavs wrapped up play in the ETBCA tournament in the blustery elements on Saturday with an 8-2 loss to visiting Heritage.
The Mountaineers scored twice in the top of the first and added three in the top of the third to go up 5-0. The Mavs scored a run in the bottom of the fourth, but Heritage answered with three runs in the top of the fifth. Anderson County scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to make the final 8-2.
“We played at 10 a.m. and it felt like it was 15 degrees and it snowed at one point during the game,” Boynton said. “It was our seventh game of the week and guys were running on fumes. With the early start and cold, it wasn’t a good combination.”
Luke Lankford took the loss on the mound. He pitched three innings and allowed five earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Jackson McMurray pitched three innings of relief. He allowed two earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts and one walk.
Wolfenbarger and Williams each went 1-3 with a double, with Wolfenbarger collecting the only RBI for the Mavs. Wilson and Housewright each had a hit.
The Mavs host Halls Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
