The Walker Valley Mustangs got off to a good start in their first game at the Pounder Classic Saturday at Central’s Gene Lively Stadium, but it didn’t end the way they had wanted.
Village, a talented team from Florida, trailed the Mustangs for most of the game before scoring the winning runs in the bottom of the sixth as they claimed the championship by a 3-2 final.
That was totally unlike the first game Walker Valley played on Saturday as they broke a 3-3 tie with 10 runs in the fifth to earn that championship berth with a 13-3 win over Signal Mountain.
It was a most unusual inning as the Mustangs sent 14 hitters to the plate and did all of that scoring with only one hit. The Eagles helped their cause a lot as they had seven walks in the inning, six with the bases loaded, in addition to two hit batters and a couple of errors.
Walker Valley coach Wes Anderson has surely seen crazy stuff like this in his baseball career, but he wasn’t complaining as his team won going away.
“I thought our approach at the plate was good and we didn’t help him,” he said, referring to Signal Mountain pitcher Sam Collier, who came on in relief of Eagle starter Jak Taylor and allowed those 10 runs without a hit while walking seven.
“I thought we started off kind of slow, but we always try to have the approach where we aren’t too high or too low. We just took advantage of the opportunities presented us,” he added.
Signal Mountain coach Josh Gandy felt like Taylor did well before being replaced with one out in the fifth with runners on second and third.
I thought that Jak Taylor did a nice job battling out there, but I didn’t like that last inning too much,” he began after his team dropped to 9-7 with the loss.
“We got a chance to play a bunch of young guys and that’s good, but you just have to throw strikes in baseball. Walks are just part of the game. We have to clean some things up, but we have a big district series on Monday with Red Bank and that’s what we’re focused on now,” he nodded.
Michael Pledge was the starter for the Mustangs and went four innings while allowing three runs on four hits. He also had four strikeouts and a pair of walks. Braxton Davis pitched a scoreless fifth and got the win, despite allowing two hits.
Tyce Knouse had the only hit in that 10-run fifth, a single that drove in the ninth run. Pinch hitter Nate Wooten then had a sacrifice fly to left that ended the game.
The Eagles had taken the lead with two runs in the second. Brady Timblin reached on an error before Drew Wyatt singled with one out. A single from Taylor sent Timblin home with the first run while a courtesy runner scored the second on an infield single by J.B. Zimmerman.
Walker Valley answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Cason Cunningham had a leadoff double in the second before Micah Stone walked. Hayden Harrison reached on a fielder’s choice before Owen Sneed drove in the first run with a single to right. Catcher Jordan Smith then doubled to drive home the second run. Smith then scored a minute or so later on a wild pitch.
Porter Jones scored the tying run for the Eagles in the fourth. He led off the inning with a walk and went to second on another walk to Wyatt. Jones then scored on another Walker Valley error.
Smith was the only Walker Valley player with two hits. There were no Signal Mountain players with more than one.
The Eagles finished with six hits for the game while Walker Valley finished with five.
Signal Mountain won its first game of the day with a 12-5 victory over Yorkville Christian.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 020 10 – 3 6 3
WALKER VALLEY 030 0(10) – 13 5 3
Taylor, Collier (4), Dotson (5) and Wyatt; Pledge, Davis (5) and Smith.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)