Dragons drop three in Classic, beat Scott on Monday night

April 3, 2024 by Ken Lay

After losing five of six games last week, Clinton High School’s baseball team entered the month of April with a five-game losing streak.

Well, it looks as though the change in the calendar was just what the Dragons needed as they opened the new month with a District 4-AAA double-header sweep of Scott on Monday night in Huntsville.

Clinton (6-9 overall, 3-1 in the district) edged the Highlanders 9-6 in the opener, and then won the nightcap 15-5.

The Dragons were able to nab the season sweep against Scott, but perhaps things weren’t quite as easy as expected.

Clinton and the Highlanders were locked in a 6-6 tie after three innings of the opener before the Dragons took the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth frame. They would add another one in the fifth to come up with the winning margin.

Jackson Webb had the big bat for Clinton in the first game as he went 3-for-4 and recorded a double, a triple, an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. Isaiah Slaven collected two hits, including a double. He also had a stolen base, a run scored, and two RBIs, while Harrison Shelton was 1-for-4 and drove in two runs.

Clinton, which made five errors in the first game, had to overcome a big deficit after spotting the Highlanders five runs in the bottom of the opening frame of the second game. The Dragons, however, scored 15 unanswered runs, including three in the top of the second and two in the third before polishing things off with a 10-run spot in the in the top of the fourth.

Brent Schaffer went 2-for-2. He drove in three runs and scored another to pace a Clinton attack that pounded out nine hits.

Jayce Mack had a pair of hits in the second game. He also scored and drove in a pair of runs.

Shelton was 1-for-2 with three runs, three RBIs and two stolen bases to help the Dragons reverse their recent fortunes.

Last week began on a high note for Clinton as the Dragons defeated Anderson County in the district opener for both schools on March 25.

But after a rainout the following day, things went south in a hurry for the Dragons,

They lost the second game to the Mavericks on Wednesday, March 27, 10-1 and proceeded to drop four straight in the Clinch River Challenge.

Clinton suffered losses to David Crockett (6-4), Sevier County (1-0), Bryan Station (11-4) and University High School (12-7).

Dragons Coach Rob Stacy took the blame for his team’s struggles last week.

“I’m not doing a good enough job coaching these guys,” Stacy said. “I’m not putting in enough time at the park right now.

“Granted, we played some really good teams, but we should have been 2-2 or even 3-1.”