Five games into the 2021 prep baseball season and the Signal Mountain Eagles have produced what seems like a season’s worth of runs.
Five game into the Hixson Wildcats’ side of the baseball schedule and it seems like there have been a season’s worth of injuries.
Signal Mountain rang up another double-digit outing, jumping on the Wildcats early in what turned out to be 10-3 District 6AA victory.
Hixson, meanwhile, had another starter go down to injury and now finds itself down three starters in the lineup, including its top pitcher and catcher.
“Yeah, we’re still reeling a little from the weekend. It’s hard to lose your top pitcher and catcher, but Signal Mountain was ready to play from the get-go tonight. Those first couple of innings they came out and hit it, we booted a few, and things just sort of snowballed and next thing you know we’re down 8-0,” said Hixson coach Colton Green.
The Eagles (5-0) needed just five pitches to do what they do best: score runs. Braden Casner lined a single to center on the third pitch and sophomore Carter Giles lost the second pitch he saw deep into the night in left centerfield for a two-run homer.
“I was really pleased with our approach at the plate. We got a lot of big swings in. This is always such a big series. Even with the big lead early, I never felt comfortable against them,” Signal Mountain coach Josh Gandy said.
So far through five games, the Eagles have racked up double digit run totals in all five outings, outscoring their opponents 69-11.
“They are a really good fastball hitting team. We didn’t see them last year, and there were some unknowns about what to expect, but the one thing we did know was they are a good fastball hitting team,” Green said.
Signal Mountain slipped six more runs across the plate in the second inning, sending 12 men to the plate. The Eagles got three hits, four walks and took advantage of two errors in the inning. Giles doubled home a run and Braden Wolfard had a two-run double in the gap.
Eagle starter Hunter Davis, meanwhile, had his A-game, striking out seven while walking just one in four innings worth of three-hit ball. He allowed just one unearned run.
“He’s a type of kid who doesn’t mind coming right at you out there. Here it is. He got the lead and knew what to do with it,” added Gandy.
To Hixson’s credit, they stayed competitive to the very end. Leadoff hitter Manny Velazquez hit it hard every time up, and had two of the Wildcats’ four hits, including two doubles drawing this from Gandy after the game: “I’d take nine of him.”
Jacob Tobias drove in Velazquez after his double in the third, and A.J. Wild doubled and scored on a sac fly from Kane Johnson in what was one of those $35 at-bats, fouling off six two-strike pitches into the woods, before lofting the fly ball to center. Tobias drove in the final run with a ground out.
Lefty Brayden Moyer did a nice job slowing down the Eagles’ attack with 3-plus innings of relief, allowing just two hits.
Sam Weatherspoon and Ben Timblin drove in the final pair of runs for the winners and Preston Worley closed out the game with a solid three innings of relief.
Hixson was without pitcher Nic Castro and catcher Corey Satterfield due to injuries over the weekend, and lost second baseman Cooper Bailey to a head injury on a collision at second base in the second inning.
The two district foes will go at it again tonight in a 7 p.m. start at Signal Mountain.
SIGNAL MNT 260 011 0 – 10 10 3
HIXSON 001 010 1 – 3 4 5
Davis, Worley (5) and Farr; Tobias, Moyer (2), Russak (6) and Johnson.
(Contact James Beach at 1134james@gmail.com or via Twitter @beachnut1134