Mavericks hot streak continues
Anderson County entered the week as one of the area’s hottest baseball teams.
The Mavericks had a big stay at the East Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Tournament as they won three of their four games at the event.
ACHS (14-6 overall, 3-1 in District 4-AAA) closed out the tournament with an 11-1 victory over Bluefield (West Virginia) on Saturday afternoon. The Mavericks started fast as they scored eight runs in the first.
“We had a big first inning and we scored eight runs,” Anderson County Coach Josh Boynton said. “That gave me a chance to get some guys in that don’t get to play much, and that’s big for those guys.
“They come to practice and they work hard every day and sometimes, they don’t reap the rewards.”
Offensively, Reece Wilkerson went 2-for-2 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI, while Trent Strickland was 1-for-1 with an RBI and a run scored, and Morgan Clark was 1-for-1 with two runs and two RBIs.
Boynton used four pitchers in the five-inning game and Easton Beaty, McCauley White and Kris Pelliccio combined to post 12 strikeouts in the contest.
“We played pretty well in the tournament, but we had that one bad game on Friday,” Boynton said.
On Friday the Mavericks lost 9-1 to Urbana (Ohio).
“I knew it was going to be tough coming in,” Boynton said.
“I talked to them before the game and I didn’t get a good vibe from them. I told them that if they didn’t get ready that we were going to get beat and that was what happened.”
That was Anderson County’s only loss in its last 12 games.
The Mavericks posted a pair of victories on Thursday.
Anderson County opened tournament play with a 5-1 win over Edmonson County (Kentucky) in an in-school game on Thursday afternoon.
“We started with an in-school game against Edmonson County and we usually don’t play well in those, but we played well against them,” Boynton said. “Wil Ridenour pitched a great game.”
Ridenour hurled a complete game as he threw seven innings. He gave up one run, six hits and two walks. He finished with six strikeouts.
Beaty went 2-for-2 with two runs and a stolen base, while Aydin Bond was 2-for-4 with a run a stolen base and an RBI.
Wilkerson was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a pair of stolen bases.
On Thursday night, the Mavs defeated Oakdale 8-3.
Daniel Unthank had a solid outing on the mound and picked up the victory as we went 6.2 innings and gave up three runs (one earned), six hits and five walks. He struck out eight before Pelliccio came in and recorded the final out.
Alex Bond went 2-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs and a run scored.
On Wednesday, the Mavericks won a district road game against Union County as Ty Wilson hit two home runs.
The Mavericks defeated UCHS, 3-0, on April 1, to open the week at home.
