BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
Martin County racked up two wins in three games last week.
Coach Wesley Hager’s Cardinal crew lost a home game to Knott County 14-5, then rebounded to defeat Tolsia 20-1 on the road and Betsy Layne 6-0 at home.
Below is a recap of the action.
KC vs. MC
INEZ — Martin County Cardinals lost the lead late in a 14-5 defeat despite outhitting Knott County 7-6 in a game March 28 at Cardinal Field in Inez.
This one was tied 5-5 going into the top of the sixth inning when things went downhill for the Cardinals.
Knott County struck first in the top of the third and scored three runs on one hit. The Cardinals committed two errors, gave up one walk and hit two batters.
The Cardinals got on the board in the bottom of the third with one run and trailed 3-1.
Martin County had two ducks on the pond at first and third in the fourth inning as Greyden Proctor started with a frozen rope to right field for a two-bagger, then Ryan Stephens got a single to move Proctor to third.
With Garrett Alley at the plate, Stephens stole second. Alley hit one in the left-field gap for a double to bring home Stephens and Proctor and tie the score 3-3.
Knott County rallied in the top of the fifth to go up 5-3.
Knott County gave up two walks to start the fifth and put Cheek and Proctor on first and second. Aiden Horn stepped to the plate and singled to bring both runners home Cheek and tie the score 5-5.
Disaster struck for the Cardinals in the top of the sixth. Knott County scored nine runs on three singles. The Cards gave up four walks, hit three batters and had four errors in the inning.
Proctor and Alley got a double each, while Cheek, Davis, Stephens, Horn and Dawson Mills all singled.
Brayden Hall got the win for Knott County, surrendering five runs on six hits over four and two-thirds innings, striking out six.
Dennison Davis took the loss for Martin County. The right-hander allowed five runs on zero hits.
Damien Cheek took the circle for Martin County and surrendered five runs on three hits over five innings, striking out three.
Dawson Mills pitched two innings, allowing four runs on three hits.
The Cardinals committed seven errors, hit six batters and gave up seven walks.
Coach Hager was disappointed following the game.
“They scored 14 runs on five hits,” Hager said. “We made a lot of errors and walked a lot as well. We hit the ball well enough to compete, but pitching was not where it needed to be.”
MC vs. THS
FORT GAY, W.Va. — Martin County pick up a 20-1 win over Tolsia in a game March 29 at Tolsia.
This one was over early as the Cardinals had a 13-0 lead after two innings and put the Rebels away in four innings.
The Cardinals put up three runs on two hits in their first at-bat. Greyden Proctor singled and Aiden Horn doubled to get the offensive machine started.
Martin County put up 10 runs in the second inning on singles by Horn, Evan Crum, Damien Cheek, Ryan Stephens and Dennison Davis, a walk by Cheek, a groundout by Dawson Mills, a fielder’s choice by Proctor and an error on a ball put in play by Chase Stacy.
The Cardinals added five more runs in the third to go up 18-0 on singles by Stacy and Crum and a line shot to right field for a double by Davis.
Tolsia got on the board with a run in the bottom of the third.
Martin County added two more runs in the fourth on singles by Proctor and Davis and doubles by Horn and Stephens.
The Rebels went three up and three down in the bottom of the fourth to end the game.
“We finally put all aspects of the game together, and it resulted in a great performance from my guys,” Coach Hager said of the win. “Not only is it a big confidence booster for my guys, but it shows them what kind of team we are capable of being once we execute.”
The Cardinals scored 20 runs on 14 hits and committed two errors.
Horn collected a single and two doubles, while Davis had two singles and one double to lead Martin County. Crum and Proctor picked up two singles each. Cheek, Stacy, Stephens and Mills each had a single.
Stacy was the winning pitcher. He went four innings, allowing one hit and one run while striking out five and walking zero.
C. Perkins took the loss in the circle for Tolsia, giving up seven runs on four hits over one inning and striking out two. B. Kirk got the only hit for the Tolsia Rebels.
BL vs. MC
INEZ — Senior Greyden Proctor pitched a 6-0 shutout against Betsy Layne in seven innings Thursday at Cardinal Field in Inez.
Proctor was just one hit away from pitching a no-hitter, leading Martin County to their third win of the young season. The lefty allowed one hit and zero runs over seven innings while collecting eight strikeouts and walking one.
The Cardinals were playing their third game in three days. With two outs in the first inning, Damien Cheek found a gap in left field and slugged a double. Proctor helped himself by hitting a single up the middle to bring in courtesy runner Phillips.
The Cardinals struck again in the fourth. With two outs, Chase Stacy stepped to the plate and hit a hard shot to right field for a single. Garrett Alley moved Stacy to third on a grounder to left field. Ryan Stephens followed with a line shot to left field to bring home Stacy and put the Cardinals up 2-0.
The Cardinals offensive machine came up big with four runs in the next inning. Betsy Layne committed two errors to start the inning, allowing runners on first and second. Aiden Horn, Stacy and Alley all recorded singles to put the Cards up 6-0.
Brady Hall provided the only offense for the Bobcats with a single in the seventh inning.
“On paper Betsy Layne has beaten some teams that have beaten us, so we knew it would be a battle,” commented Coach Hager. “We were able to again put everything together and come out with a convincing win.
“Greydon had a no-hitter through 6 and gave up one hit in the seventh, but he pitched an excellent game. Our approaches at the plate were very good, and I’m really excited to be playing like this heading into the All-A.”
Carter Parsons took the loss in the circle for the Betsy Layne Bobcats. Parsons allowed six runs on eight hits over five innings, striking out two.
Martin County had nine hits for the game. Stacy and Alley each recorded two singles, Cheek added a double, and Proctor, Horn, Mills and Stephens all had singles.
Evan Crum and Mills each had a stolen base.
The Cardinals had six runs on nine hits and committed two errors.
