Wildcats win high-noon showdown
Oak Ridge takes down Clinton 10-5 on Senior Day
Clinton catcher Sam Raley puts the tag on Oak Ridge senior Eli Baldwin in the first inning of play Saturday at Bobby Hopkins Field in Oak Ridge. (photo:Ken Leinart )
The Wildcats defeated Clinton in a high-noon showdown between two of the most-improved programs in East Tennessee.
After a scoreless first inning, the visiting Dragons scored two runs in the top of the second inning at Bobby Hopkins Field.
Clinton got on the board on an RBI single by Jackson Stiltner that scored Harrison Shelton. Shelton advanced to second on a single by Nik Kidd and stole third. Stiltner later came home on an error by the Wildcats, who closed out the regular season with a 12-1 loss to Bearden at home Monday.
The Wildcats, however, didn’t trail for long. They came up with three runs in their half of the frame as Kam Welch had a two-run double and scored on a single by Jason Slay to take a 3-2 lead.
Oak Ridge (19-9), which will be the No. 1 seed in the coming District 3-4A Tournament, scored four more runs in the third to extend its lead to 7-2.
Jacob Franklin and Slay each knocked in runs with sacrifice flies. Welch had an RBI single and later came home on a wild pitch for the Wildcats, who pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of three errors by the Dragons (18-14).
The Dragons will also be the No. 1 seed in the District 4-AAA Tournament, which opens at Jaycee Park Thursday night.
“We hit the ball well today,” ORHS Coach Travis Free said. “I think we had 12 or 13 hits, and Kam Welch hit the ball really well today.”
Welch sparked the Wildcats’ attack as he had two hits, including a double, two runs and three RBIs.
The Dragons pulled to within 7-4 in the fourth as Jayce Mack came up with a two-run double.
The Wildcats all but put the game away in the sixth as they scored three more runs. Caden Black had an RBI single. Mikee Teasley drove in a run with a groundout and Franklin had an RBI single.
Clinton closed out the scoring in the seventh. Ethan Tinker, who reached base after striking out via a wild pitch, scored on another wild pitch.
The Wildcats started Tyler Pickens on the mound. He went four innings as he pitched for the first time in nearly two weeks. He gave up four runs (three earned), five hits and two walks. He struck out four.
“He was rusty,” Free said of his ace. “He hadn’t pitched in 13 days and that’s why we threw him today.
“He had trouble with his command because pitchers get into routines and like to throw about once a week.”
Clinton Coach Rob Stacy was also pleased despite seeing his team take a loss.
“We hit the ball well as we saw their ace (Pickens), their top reliever (John Ulreich, who pitched two innings) and their closer (Teasley) and we hit the ball against all of them.”
The Dragons were in action Friday night as they defeated Cookeville 3-1 on the road.