BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
Martin County notched three wins in four games last week.
Coach Wesley Hager’s Cardinals swept district rival Magoffin County in a doubleheader 14-2 and 10-0, April 17 and 18, lost to Knott County 11-4 Thursday, and downed East Ridge 13-1 Friday.
Below is a recap of the action.
Cards sweep Magoffin
SALYERSVILLE — Martin County pounded out 13 hits en route to a 14- 2 mercy-rule win over Magoffin County in the first game of a 57th District doubleheader April 17 in Salyersville.
This game was never in doubt as the Cardinals scored in all five innings.
The Cardinals were up by five runs in the first inning. Dawson Mills, Ryan Stephens and Chase Stacy all singled, while Magoffin committed two errors and walked two.
Martin County scored three runs in the top of the second behind singles by Greyden Proctor and Aiden Horn to go up 8-0. Magoffin County gave up three runs and three walks in the inning.
Magoffin County got on the board with one run to cut the lead to 8-1 going into the third.
Evan Crum drew a walk to start the third frame. With two outs, Damian Cheek belted a triple, and Greyden Proctor and Aiden Horn doubled to score two runs and stretch the lead to 10-1.
The Cardinals struck again in the top of the fourth as Dennison Davis smashed a three-bagger and Crum singled to add two runs to make it 12-1.
Magoffin County scored in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the gap to 12-2.
Proctor, Davis and Horn collected singles in the top of the fifth to bring in two runs as the Cardinals went up 14-2.
The Cardinals sat down three of the next four batters in the bottom of the fifth to win the game in five innings.
Stacy got the win in the circle for Martin County. He went four innings, giving up two runs on five hits, striking out four and giving up two walks. Damian Cheek came in for relief, pitching one inning and recording two strikeouts.
The Cardinals recorded 13 hits and committed one error. Horn and Proctor each went 3-of-4 at the plate to lead the Cards. Davis went two of three, while Mills, Cheek, Stephens, Crum and Stacy all had singles.
Stephens collected four RBIs, Stacy and Horn each had two, and Crum, Proctor and Davis had one.
Proctor pitches shutout
INEZ — Greyden Proctor threw a shutout to lead Martin County past Magoffin County 10-0 in five innings April 18 at Cardinal Field.
The southpaw pitched five innings, giving up one hit and no runs while striking out nine and walking one.
The Cardinals went in front 2-0 in the first inning as Proctor, Aiden Horn and Evan Crum singled.
Neither team scored in the second or third.
The Cardinals broke the game wide open in the fourth, pushing six runs across the plate. Crum, Ryan Stephens, Chase Stacy and Dennison Davis singled, and Horn knocked a frozen rope to right field for a triple. Magoffin gave up one walk and one hit by pitch.
Martin County scored two in the fifth for the mercy rule. Crum and Dawson Mills singled, Damian Cheek drew a walk, Proctor was hit by a pitch, and Horn singled.
Parker Bowling picked up the loss for the Hornets. He gave up six runs on seven hits and three walks over three innings. Colin Litteral came in for relief and gave up four runs on five hits while striking out three and walking one.
The Cardinals tallied 13 hits. Horn went 3-for-4 at the plate, driving in four runs on a triple in the fourth and a single in the fifth. Proctor picked up three RBIs and Evan Crum and Ryan Stephens recorded one RBI each.
Cards fall to Knott Central
HINDMAN — Martin County watched the game slip away early as they could not recover in a 10-4 loss to Knott County Central in a game Thursday at Knott County.
Knott County scored three runs in the first inning and two in the second to go up 5-0.
Martin County pushed three runs across the home plate in the third behind singles by Garrett Alley, Evan Crum and Dawson Mills, a fielder’s choice by Greyden Proctor and an error on a ball put in play by Aiden Horn.
The Cardinals added one run in the fourth to cut the deficit to 5-3, but Knott County scored two in the fourth and three in the fifth to set the final score.
Chase Stacy toed the rubber for the Cardinals, pitching one inning and giving up three runs on four hits for the loss. Dennison Davis threw five innings in relief out of the bullpen, giving up eight runs on seven hits, walking five and striking out six.
Mason Amburgey pitched on the hill for Knott County Central. The right-hander allowed nine hits and four runs over six innings, striking out five for the win.
The Cardinals tallied 10 hits. Proctor, Mills, Davis and Crum each had two hits. Stephens and Alley picked up one hit apiece.
Cards defeat East Ridge
LICK CREEK — Martin County stole the lead late to defeat East Ridge 13-1 Friday on the road.
Both teams scored a run in the third inning. The Cardinals got on the board when Greyden Proctor doubled to bring Damian Cheek across the home plate.
The game was tied 1-1 in the top of the fourth when Dennison Davis drew a walk, scoring one run. The Cardinals added five runs in the fourth to go up 6-1.
Martin County’s bats erupted in the fifth inning to score seven runs behind singles by Evan Crum and Dawson Mills, a triple by Aiden Horn and a double by Greyden Proctor.
Cheek took the mound for the Cardinals. The pitcher went five innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out 10 and walking one.
Brayden Hall took the loss for East Ridge. He pitched four and one-half innings, giving up three hits and five runs while striking out six and walking two.
Martin County tallied 12 hits. Alley went 3-for-4 at the plate, while Mills, Stacy and Crum had multiple hits, Cheek and Proctor doubled, and Horn tripled.