‘River Boys’ get wins over Cocke County, Volunteer

March 27, 2024 by Ken Lay

Clinton High School’s baseball team battled some inclement weather last week, but the Dragons managed to win two of their three games.

Clinton (3-4) had victories over Cocke County and Volunteer. The Dragons lost to Christian Academy of Knoxville in a game that wasn’t originally on their schedule.

They opened the week with a 12-3 win over the Fighting Cocks on Monday, March 18.

Garrett Davis had the hot bat for the Dragons as he went 3-for-3 and scored four runs. He had two doubles and recorded three RBIs.

Isaiah Slaven had two hits, including a double, and drove in a pair of runs.

Harrison Shelton had an RBI triple and scored a run, while Garrett Lee doubled and scored two runs and Dallas Beets collected a hit and scored two runs.

On Thursday, the Dragons played the Warriors and came up on the short end of a 4-0 decision. Clinton managed just one hit, a single by Davis, against CAK.

But coach Rob Stacy, despite the loss, was pleased with his squad’s effort.

“I was really happy with the way we played against CAK,” Stacy said. “We only got one hit but we were hitting the ball and we were making contact.

“I was really happy with the way Slaven pitched and I was really happy with the way Harrison pitched. They (the Warriors) made contact too, but they had a lot of popups.”

Shelton started and threw 1.2 innings. He walked one and struck out one, while not allowing a hit. Slaven took the mound in the third. He gave up four runs (two earned), five hits and five walks and finished with three strikeouts.

On Friday, the Dragons outlasted Volunteer High 11-7.

Shelton went 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs, while Slaven was 3-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and three RBIs. Lee doubled, scored two runs and drove in a pair. Davis tripled, scored and drove in a run.

While Stacy has been happy with Clinton’s play early this season, he’s looking for more from the Dragons.

“I’m happy but I’m not satisfied, if that makes any sense,” he said. “I think there’s another rung of the ladder that we haven’t reached yet.”