Cheek rings up 100th career hit
BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County baseball handled Phelps and came back from a 5-3 deficit to defeat Fairview. The Cards dropped two district games to Paintsville to finish the week at 2-2. Damian Cheek garnered his 100th career hit. The following is a recap of last week’s action:
MC vs Fairview – Senior Damian Cheek bagged a double with a shot to right field to collect his 100th hit in his Cardinal career in a 6-5 comeback win over Fairview on Friday. His hit drove in Aiden Horn and Blake Lemaster in the bottom of the first inning to pull the Cards within one.
With Cheek on second, Chase Stacy hit a sacrifice fly to advance his teammate to knot the score at three a piece in the opening inning.
Heading into the sixth, the Cards were down 5-3. Pinch runner Jack Cline made his way around the horn and scored on a wild pitch.
No. 28 Crayson Lafferty provided the late-game heroics in the bottom of the seventh.
Dylan Hale started the final stanza, advancing to first on a dropped third strike.
Teammate Eli Mills laid down the bunt on the next batter-up. The pair reach second and third on a passed ball.
Cheek took a free base on the intentional walk.
With the bases juiced, Lafferty stepped into the box.
The third pitch was the charm and he struck gold on a hard grounder to left field.
Mills and Hale turned on the jets and came home to give Lafferty and the Cardinals the walk-off win.
Offensively for Martin County, Lafferty and Cheek were potent at the plate. Lafferty was the team’s top hitter, going 2-3 and driving in the game-winning runs. Cheek rang up a double and two RBIs and scored a run.
Blake Lemaster, Hale, and Mills made their way around the bases to score.
Horn crossed home plate for the Cards. He threw 36 pitches from the mound striking out a batter.
Stephens struck out two on 82 tosses in four innings.
MC vs Phelps – Aidan Mann made his return to the mound for the first time since last season due to injury. The righty allowed no hits in three innings in a 14-2 win over Phelps on April 17.
With the Cards up 5-0, Chase Stacy dove to his right and made the quick turn from short to first to gun down the runner at first to Ryan Stephens, who stretched out for the throw for the third out.
In the bottom of the third, Eli Mills hit a grounder to the Hornet shortstop. The throw went flying past the first baseman and the Cardinal took flight. He flew around the bags and made his way home.
The fourth inning was a party for the Cards. The eight-run charade started with Stacy tagging up and scoring on an error.
With Lafferty, Hale, and Cheek sitting ducks on the pond, Mills singled to score two runners.
On the following at-bat, he and Cheek crossed home on wild pitches.
Knox Maynard cranked a single to reach base. Stacy sent him to the promised land on a line drive to center field.
Crayson Lafferty joined in on the fun after he ripped a double to the fence to score Stacy and Blake Lemaster to round out the bottom of the fourth.
With a Hornet on first, Mills threw an inside pitch and the batter half-swung into what appeared would be a foul ball.
Lafferty from behind the plate chased it down the first base line and collected it up after it turned back into fair territory. He fired to Stacy at second, who turned the double play at first in a wild turn of events.
Phelps sent the next hit to a sprinting Jack Cline in left field, who ran it down for the third and final out of the game.
Hale scored twice and Lafferty once in the win. The pair each collected a double and drove in two RBIs.
Mills drove in two Cardinals and Stacy one. They crossed home plate three times.
Lemaster had a hit and rounded the bases twice.
Julian Stafford, Cheek, Caige Presley, and Ryan Stephens connected for a hit. Stafford and Presley had an RBI.
Knox Maynard scored a run for the Cards.
Mann earned the win on the mound striking out four and walking none in his no-hitter.
MC vs Paintsville – The Cards fell to the Tigers 18-3 in Inez on April 16.
Crayson Lafferty, Chase Stacy, and Dylan Hale each went 1-3 at the plate. Lafferty clocked a double and drove in two runners.
Stacy crossed home plate once.
Senior Damian Cheek touched home twice in the loss.
MC at Paintsville – Martin County traveled to take on the Tigers on April 15. The Cards fell 9-2 in the district loss.
Chase Stacy hit .500 at the plate and drove in a Cardinal runner.
Damian Cheek, Aiden Horn, and Crayson Lafferty rang out a hit.
Blake Lemaster scored and had a stolen base. Jack Cline scored as a pinch runner.
Martin County will travel for a rematch with Fairview on Saturday at noon.
The Cards were scheduled to play Magoffin on April 21 and 22. Details weren’t available at the press deadline.