BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
Martin County won one of three games last week.
The Cardinals started the week May 1 with a 15-8 loss to Floyd County Central at home, knocked off Belfry 5-2 the following day at Cardinal Field, then fell to Shelby Valley 9-5 Thursday on the road.
Below is a recap of the action.
FC 15, MC 8
INEZ — Martin County was ahead after the first inning but watched the game slip away 15-8 to visiting Floyd County Central at Cardinal Field on May 1.
Floyd County scored two runs in the top of the first inning to go in front.
The Cardinals saw three men cross the plate behind singles by Evan Crum, Dawson Mills and Chase Stacy and a triple by Greyden Proctor.
Floyd Central retook the lead for good in the third, scoring three runs to go up 5-3. The Jaguars added two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to stretch the lead to 8-3.
Martin County went four straight innings with no runs, then scored four in the bottom of the sixth to close the deficit to 8-7, thanks to singles by Crum, Aiden Horn and Proctor and walks by Garrett Alley and Damian Cheek.
Floyd Central exploded for seven runs in the last at-bat to put the game out of reach.
The Cardinals scored a run in their last at-bat to set the final score.
Proctor took the loss for Martin County. The pitcher went five and two-thirds innings, giving up eight runs on seven hits, walking four and striking out four. Dennison Davis came in for relief and pitched one inning, giving up four runs on one hit while walking two and striking out two. Stacy gave up two runs on two hits. Crum finished the game, giving up one run on one hit and walking two.
Kolten Crum pitched six innings on the hill for the Jaguars, giving up seven runs on 11 hits, striking out six and walking four for the win. Logan Moore came in for relief, pitching one inning, giving up one run on one and walking one.
The Cardinals had 12 hits. Crum led Martin County with three hits in four at-bats. Proctor tripled, singled and batted in two; Horn had two hits and three RBIs; Mills had two hits; Stacy singled, knocked in one and stole two bases, while Cheek and Davis each singled.
Floyd Central tallied 11 hits. Koen Reeves, Bentley and Martin had multiple hits. Reeves went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead Floyd Central in hits.
MC 5, Belfry 2
INEZ — Martin County defeated Belfry 5-2 in a game May 2 at Cardinal Field.
Belfry scored in the top of the third inning to go in front 1-0.
The Cardinals finally got on the board in the fourth inning, pushing four runs across the plate for a 4-1 lead. Ryan Stephens walked, Dennison Davis single, and Evan Crum singled on a hard ground ball to center field to bring Stephens in for a score. Dawson Mills doubled on a line drive to right field, bringing in Davis and Crum, then stole home.
Martin County added a run in the fifth. Mills doubled on a fly ball to center field and advanced to third on an error by the center fielder. Damien Cheek doubled on a line drive to right field to bring Mills across the home plate.
The Pirates added a run in the sixth, but it was not enough.
Chase Stacy was the winning pitcher for Martin County. Stacy went seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out three and walking one.
Isaiah Stanley took the loss for Belfry. He pitched two innings, allowing three hits and four runs while striking out two.
The Cardinals tallied six hits. Mills doubled and singled and knocked in two runs in two at-bats for Martin County. Cheek doubled and knocked in two, Crum singled and knocked in one, and Proctor and Davis singled.
Belfry had five hits. I. Stanley and J. Varney each doubled
SV 9, MC 5
PIKEVILLE — Martin County lost a 9-5 decision to Shelby Valley on the road May 4.
The Cardinals got on the board with a run in the first behind a double by Dawson Mills and singles by Damian Cheek and Aiden Horn.
Shelby Valley answered with four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4-1 lead.
The Cardinals pushed two runs across the plate in the third to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Valley added one run in the fourth and three in the fifth to go up 9-3.
Martin County scored two in the sixth behind singles by Ryan Stephens and Mills and a double by Garrett Alley to set the final score.
Dennison Davis started on the mound for Martin County. The pitcher allowed seven hits and five runs over two innings while striking out zero and walking three. Mills threw four innings in relief out of the bullpen for the loss. Mills allowed four runs on two hits while striking out two and walking three.
Jaxson Damron got the win for Shelby Valley. Damron pitched three innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out zero and walking three. R. Newsome came in for relief, giving up two runs on three hits.
The Cardinals tallied 10 hits. Mills went 3-for-4 at the plate, tallying a double, two singles and one RBI to lead Martin County. Horn had two singles, Alley doubled and knocked one in, Cheek and Stacy each singled and knocked one in, and Stephens and Davis each singled.
Shelby Valley had nine hits. Fields and Brown all collected multiple hits for the Shelby Valley Wildcats.
