There was plenty of hits and strong pitching as Cleveland wrapped up the top seed for the upcoming District 5-4A Tournament with a shutout of Rhea County Thursday evening, at Bill Tally Stadium.
The Blue Raiders bounced back from a loss Tuesday to the Golden Eagles with an 11-0 "mercy-rule" five-inning shutout.
Although both Cleveland (19-8) and McMinn County (15-7) finished league play at 6-3, the Raiders hold the tie-breaker for the No. 1 spot, having taken 2-of-3 games from the Tribe earlier this season.
Wrapping up the regular season, Cleveland will entertain Gordon Lee (Ga.) Saturday, Red Bank Wednesday, Sweetwater Thursday and Notre Dame Saturday.
RAIDERS 11, EAGLES 0: Wasting no time, Cleveland starter Tyler Gardner needed just 10 pitches to set the tone, sending the first three Rhea County (6-17, 2-7) batters back to the dugout, the final two on strikeouts.
The Raider offense also started with a bang, putting a half dozen two-out runs on the board in their first try.
After Sam Coleman got things going with a one-out single, Jonas Ernest brought him home with a double before Caden Tippens blasted a shot over the left field wall.
Five straight Raiders followed with four singles and a walk, with Owen Goglio driving in one run and River Briggs plating two more.
The hosts tacked on two more scores in the second when Garner helped his own cause with a RBI-single, before B Pratt came in on a passed ball.
Another single by Briggs and a two-run shot by Collin Stuart in the third frame pushed the lead to double digits before Coleman closed out the hometown scoring with a run-scoring one-base knock in the bottom of the fourth.
With plenty of hits to go around, Stuart went 2-for-4, with a homer and a double, plus he drove in a pair and scored twice.
Tippens also went deep with a two-run dinger and drew a walk, while Briggs and Coleman both got on base three times with a pair of singles, plus were "plunked," plating a a total of three teammates and each scoring once.
Gardner went 2-for-3, with a "ribbie," while Charley Atha was 2-for-2, with a walk and a run scored.
Jayden Bates also had a hit and walked the line.
On the mound, Gardner struck out seven, "plunked" one and gave up the only Rhea hit in four innings of work before Stuart toed the rubber for the final frame, notching a couple of Ks.
GAME SUMMARY
District 5-4A
Thursday, April 17
at Bill Tally Stadium
Rhea County 000 00 — 0 1 1
Cleveland 622 1x — 11 14 0
WP: Ty Gardner 5 IP, 7 Ks, 0 BB, 1 HBP 1 hit, 0 ER. LP: Reese Pendergrass 1.1 1 K, 2 BB, 8 hits, 7 ER. HR: Collin Stuart, Caden Tippens (C). 2B: Stuart, Jonas Ernest. RBI: Rhea none; Stuart 2, Tippens 2, River Briggs 2, Sam Coleman, Ernest, Owen Goglio, Gardner. RAIDER HIGHLIGHTS: Stuart 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 RS; Tippens 1-2, BB, HR, 2 RBI, RS; Briggs 2-3, HBP, 2 RBI, RS; Coleman 2-4, HBP, RBI, RS; Ernest 1-3, 2B, RBI, RS; Gardner 2-3, RBI; Tippens 1-2, BB, HR, 2 RBI, RS; Charley Atha 2-2, BB, RS; Goglio 1-3, RBI, RS; Jayden Bates 1-2, BB. RECORDS: Rhea County 6-17, 2-7 District 5-4A; Cleveland 19-8, 6-3 District 5-4A.