Oak Ridge shines on mound
Coach: ‘We pitched the ball extremely well’
A spring break trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama, proved to pay dividends for the Oak Ridge High School baseball team last week.
The Wildcats (2-2-1 overall) split four games in Gulf Shores.
But Coach Travis Free said he was pleased with his squad’s showing, at least on the mound.
“We pitched the ball extremely well,” he said.
“I don’t think we played particularly well offensively, but that’s OK. We’re young and we don’t have experience in any of our spots, but one.
“We saw a lot of good arms, and most of those guys threw about 88 consistently,”Free said. “And this was a productive week for us. We’ll see that kind of pitching this season, and that’s why we took this trip.”
Things opened well for the Wildcats as they earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Buckhorn (Alabama) in nine innings on Monday, March 11.
Offensively, Peyton Witter went 2-for-3, with a double, for the Wildcats.
Warren East was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Mikee Teasley was 1-for-2 with three walks and an RBI.
The Wildcats used three pitchers in the contest. John Ulerich went 4.2 innings. He yielded a pair of hits, one unearned run and two walks. He finished his appearance with six strikeouts.
Tryce Sharpe picked up the win in relief as he pitched one shutout inning. Cy Stephenson also toed the rubber in the game for the Wildcats. He pitched 3.1 innings. He surrendered two hits and one walk, while striking out three.
Later in the day, the Wildcats defeated Northside 8-3.
Senior shortstop Caden Black went 1-for-2 with a home run, two walks and three stolen bases.
Parker Free was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Khyren Welch doubled and drove in two runs for the Wildcats
Stephens doubled and walked twice for Oak Ridge.
Teasley started on the mound for the Wildcats and earned the win. He yielded three runs (two earned), four hits and one walk in 6.2 innings pitched.
Alex Franklin recorded the final out of the contest.
The Wildcats lost their final two games of the tournament. They dropped a 3-2 decision to North Florida Christian, and fell 9-2 to Green Hill.
Teasley went 1-for-3 with a run against North Florida Christian, while Noah Wood went 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Teasley also had a hit and an RBI against Green Hill, while Witter doubled and scored.