Phoenix battle but fall short vs. region foe Adairsville
Although it was able to string together a handful of hard hits and was bolstered by a steady pitching performance, Sonoraville was unable to rally after a couple of costly mistakes in a 3-1 loss against the Adairsville Tigers on Thursday.
Starting pitcher Avery Hopper put together a solid overall appearance for the Phoenix (7-5, 2-3) on the mound, but took a while to settle in against a feisty Tigers (5-9, 2-3) lineup in the first. Adairsville short- stop Kyler Pelfrey and designated hitter Corey Nation jumped on early offerings from Hopper and muscled them into the outfield for singles. Tigers second baseman Sam Seaman followed suit by walking to set up a tricky bases-loaded situation.
Hopper initially kept his composure, striking out third baseman Halen Huskins and prompting first baseman Garrett Mishoe to fly out to left. However, in one of the most important sequences of the game, Adairsville centerfielder Taylor Whitley laced a scorching grounder to third base where the ball was misjudged and allowed to bounce into the outfield grass. The error provided the Tigers with a 2-0 advantage.
Adairsville was able to extend the lead to a more comfortable 3-0 in the fifth off the bat of Mishoe, who drilled a high fastball over the right field fence for a no-doubt solo home run.
Mishoe was easily the most productive player at the plate for Adairsville, finishing the day 3-for-4 with the homer and two additional singles. The team had a total of eight hits.
Despite giving up three runs, Hopper maintained his composure while toeing the rubber for six innings. He effectively worked his way out of multiple bases-loaded scenarios while collecting five strikeouts and walking only two. Tyler Lyles relieved Hopper in the seventh, allowing one hit and one walk in one inning.
The early support was plenty for Adairsville starting pitcher Caden Gibbs. Gibbs tossed four innings of shutout baseball against the Phoenix, striking out two and walking none. Seaman functioned as a closer for the Tigers, allowing one run over the last three innings while striking out four.
Even though they failed to produce runs in a couple key spots, Sonoraville didn’t have trouble getting on base against the two Adairsville arms. Chase Kirby, Gavin Phillips, Gage Soulios, Trent Walker, Wyatt Castoe and Vincent all generat- ed base hits throughout the game.
While Sonoraville attempted to battle back from the early deficit, one of the team’s prime scoring opportunities was squandered by a batter’s interference call.
In the fourth, Phillips slapped a single and attempted to steal second base while Soulios was at the plate. During the steal attempt, the catcher’s arm grazed Soulios in the box during the throw to second, causing it to sail into the outfield. Phillips swiftly advanced to third on the poor throw and seemed to have a decent chance of scoring, but the umpire decided to call Phillips out due to interference, putting an abrupt end to the inning.
In the sixth, Vincent and Phillips once again attempted to spark a rally. Vincent laced a single that was too difficult for Mishoe to handle before reaching second easily on a passed ball. Phillips responded by smacking his own single into the outfield and knocking in Vincent. Phillips stole second, but the comeback was stifled by Seaman, who struck out the next two hitters and left Phillips stranded.
The Phoenix displayed a little more life in the last inning when Castoe started things off with a single and stolen base, but the next three batters were quickly retired by the Adairsville reliever to secure a Tigers’ victory.
Sonoraville was back home on Tuesday to host Ringgold in another huge region contest. (For details on that game, see Saturday’s Calhoun Times). They will visit North Murray on Thursday at 5:55 p.m.
In other recent prep baseball action:
North Murray 7, Calhoun 6
The Jackets rallied to tie things up with three runs in the sixth on Thursday, but North Murray responded with the eventual game-winning run in the bottom half of the inning to send Calhoun to a tough region road loss.