Tigers Defeat Bulldogs in Third Game of Season
On Monday the 16th the Tigers hosted Goodpasture. After a one-two-three top of the first, Macon drew first blood. Lead-off man Austin Taft singled into left center followed by two strike-outs. Clean-up hitter Andrew Kempf moved Taft to third when he reached first on a throwing error. On the next pitch Kempf and Taft attempted a delayed double steal and the Goodpasture pitcher balked scoring Taft and moving Kempf to second. Larkin Whittemore then reached on an error but gets credit for an RBI. After one inning Tigers lead 2-0. Hurler Dalton Shrum was able to keep the game close but the Cougars bats eventually came alive and wore Macon down. At the end of seven the Tigers get the loss by a score of 2-9. They played a decent game but simply ran into a better team.
On the following day, Macon County traveled to Nashville to face Goodpasture again in the return match. Andrew Kempf took the mound but couldn’t put a stop to the offensive might of the 20-2 Cougar team. Final score was Macon 0 Goodpasture 10.
On Thursday April 19th Macon traveled to DeKalb County. Baseball is always strong in Smithville and they consistently are a tough team. This contest turned into a track meet but Macon just couldn’t outpace DeKalb and lost by a score of 12-13. Austin Craighead is the pitcher of record and gets the loss. Shane Hesson goes 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs and Jacob Haley goes 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs as well. Senior Andrew Kempf goes 2 for 4 with an RBI and a Home Run. In addition Macon committed 4 errors in this contest.
To close out the week the Tigers traveled to cross-county rival Red Boiling Springs. Tigers Hunter Williams and Daniel Ashburn combine for the win while Bulldog Brince Crouch is the pitcher of record for Red Boiling. Tiger brothers Austin Craighead, 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs, and Ryan Craighead, 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs, stand out while Kempf hits another Home Run. Bulldogs Matt French and Ty Tuck collect hits for Red Boiling. The Tigers defeat the Bulldogs by a final score of 17-0 in five innings.
Next week Macon is scheduled to play at home against Greenbrier on Monday the 23rd and at Greenbrier the following day in two must win games. They are then scheduled to travel to Grundy County to play in the Mountain Valley Classic on April 27th-28th in Coalmont.
