BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County’s baseball season came to an end at the paws of the Paintsville Tigers by a 10-0 score May 20 in the 57th District tournament. The Cardinals hosted the tournament in Inez.
Aiden Horn led off with a single to left field to start the game. The Cards managed only one more hit from senior Brock Messer on a line drive past the first baseman.
Damian Cheek took the mound to start for the Cardinals. At the bottom of the first with two runners on, Cheek struck out a batter to send the Tigers back to the dugout.
The Cards allowed six runs in the second inning. Evan Mills was a highlight to end the second with a leaping catch in left field for the third out.
Martin County held the Tigers to one run in the third. First baseman Ryan Stephens brought the stanza to a close when he sprinted into foul territory and caught a deep hit near the fence over his shoulder.
A scoreless fourth was hopeful for the Martin County faithful. But it was not enough and the Cards fell to Paintsville in the fifth inning.
Coach T.C. Maynard had a winning season in his first year as head coach.
“It is always tough to get beat out,” Maynard said of his loss. “Especially in a game where we should have been competitive and just didn’t make it happen.”
The Cards won 14 games this year and, at one point, were on a seven-game win streak.
“On the whole, it was a great first season,” remarked Maynard. “We had a great group of kids, and we will miss our seniors. But we’ll also have a lot of talent returning and will offer some offseason training to help prepare for next year.”
Seniors Messer and Mills played their last game for the Cardinals.
“Baseball was a mix of emotions for a lot of us,” Messer shared. “We’ve had our ups and downs all season, but I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it with anybody else.”
The multi-sport athlete plans on becoming a lineman through Big Sandy Community and Technical College in the fall.
Mills overcame a challenge after developing a close relationship with previous coach Wesley Hager, who departed last year for a new position.
“I was able to play to the best of my ability under the new coach,” Mills said. “I loved spending the season with my teammates and making a ton of memories.”
Mills plans to attend college at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. His goal is to study pastoral ministry.
