BASEBALL ROUNDUP: NSM sweeps Pisgah in area series

NSM (11-1, 2-0) won Game 1 by a 13-8 score on Wednesday in Higdon before posting a 14-1 win in Game 2 at Pisgah Thursday afternoon. The Bison also won 18-0 in the third game of the series, which was played for area tiebreaker purposes only and did not count in the area standings.

In Game 1, Pisgah (6-5, 2-2) took a 2-1 lead on Luke Gilbert’s two-run double in the top of the third inning before NSM scored five runs in the third inning and three in the fourth to take an 8-3 advantage. Pisgah scored four runs in the top of fifth, but NSM countered with four of its own. 

Kaden Moore hit a two-run homer and Luke Reed had a three-run triple for NSM while Jackson Burgess had one hit, two walks, an RBI and three runs scored and Kolten Cooper had two hits, including a double, and one RBI. Mikey Poss had an RBI single for the Bison and Landon Keller, Brayton Johnson had one hit and Kayden Gilley scored three runs. Moore also got the win on the mound, recording eight strikeouts over four innings pitched.

For Pisgah, Gilbert finished 4-for-4 with five RBIs while Jakob Kirby had two hits and one RBI, Wes Arnold had an RBI double and Jackson Smalley and Jaxon Byrd had one hit each.

In Game 2, NSM scored two runs in the first inning before adding eight more in the third, three in the fourth and one in the fifth for mercy-rule shortened win. Burgess had two hits and two  RBIs for the Bison while Reed had one hit and two RBIs, Cooper had two RBIs, Gilley had one hit and one RBI and Hayden Neil had one RBI. Poss got the win on the mound for NSM, striking out eight and allowing just one hit — a single from Gilbert — and three walks over five innings pitched.

In the area tiebreaker contest, Reed pitched five shutout innings while allowing just three hits and two walks and striking out five. At the plane, Burgess went 3-for-5 with a double and five RBIs for NSM while Poss went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, Logan Shoemake went 2-for-3 with a double an one RBI and Cooper and Neil had one RBI each. Smalley, Levi Arnold and Caleb Jenkins had one hit each for Pisgah.

North Jackson 3, Marion County (Tenn.) 1 — At Jasper, Tennessee, North Jackson picked up a win over an out-of-state rival Thursday afternoon.

North Jackson (10-5) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the opening when Cayden Wynne’s two-run double plated Blake Matthews (walk) and Carson Smith (double) in the first inning before adding an insurance run in sixth when Nick Jernigan singled and later scoring on Bodie Burnett’s RBI sacrifice fly.

Smith, Jernigan, Wynne and Collin Clark had one hit each for the Chiefs.

Smith pitched a complete-game for North Jackson. The junior struck out 14 Marion County (1-1) batters while allowing one unearned run on three hits and two walks.

Ider 5, Section 1 — At Section, visiting Ider took Game 1 of the team’s Class 2A Area 15 series Thursday afternoon.

Trailing 1-0 after one inning, Section (3-7, 0-1) tied the game in the second after Dillon Pope led off the inning with a single and scored when Jackson Stringer reached on an error. But Ider (5-7, 2-1) went back in front with a run in the third before scoring tacking on two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh.

Ider pitcher Keegan Whitaker recorded 17 strikeouts in the complete-game effort on the mound. He held Section to four hits, two from Preston Dover and one each from Pope and Stringer.

Luke Swinford recorded eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings pitched for Section while Luke Vaughn and Pope combined for three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings of relief.

Tuesday

Skyline 11, Crossville 1 — At Crossville, the Vikings rolled past Class 5A Crossville for their first win of the 2023 season.

Skyline (1-5) scored four runs in the top of the first inning before adding three in the third, two in the fourth and two in the sixth.

Jaxon Guthrie tripled, singled and drove in two runs and Sam Utter had two hits and an RBI for the Vikings while Daniel Olinger had two hits and a walk, Will Gates had one hit and one RBI, Kaiden Case had two walks and an RBI, Bryant Kennamer had an RBI and David Potts, Landon Guest and Jordan Guest drew one walk each.

Utter got the win on the mound, allowing one run (none earned) on five hits and two walks while recording three strikeouts over six innings pitched.

Scottsboro 5, Hazel Green 3 — At Scottsboro, the Wildcats used a four-run second inning to help them avenge an earlier loss this season to Class 6A Hazel Green.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the second, Scottsboro (10-7) tied the game on Luke Dixson’s two-run single before going in front 4-2 on Gregory French’s two-run single. Hazel Green got a run back in the top of the third, but Scottsboro got an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Trent Wilson reached on an error and scored on Druw Smith’s RBI single. 

Dixson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Scottsboro while Wilson and Colton Atkinson had two hits apiece. The Wildcats also got one hit each from French, Smith, Trey Cooper, Eli Sparks and Thomas Stewart.

Atkinson and Dixson both recorded three strikeouts each in three innings pitched while Cooper struck out one while pitching a scoreless seventh inning for the save.

Ider 21, Woodville 3 — At Woodville, visiting Ider scored 14 runs in the first inning on the way to downing the Panthers.

Pierce Goddard had an RBI single for Woodville (0-9) while Ace Weaver singled and scored a run, Axel Magno walked and scored a run and Jager Campbell drew a walk.