Calhoun uses Allen’s pitching, timely hitting for 6-AAA win
The Calhoun Yellow Jackets capitalized on opportunistic offense, superb pitching and a few costly defensive mistakes by the North Murray Mountaineers to earn a gutsy 5-2 victory against the Region 6-AAA foes on Thursday.
The Jackets (14-10, 9-5) were bolstered by a brilliant pitching performance from starter Davis Allen, who was responsible for silencing one of the region’s most potent lineups over seven innings. The crafty lefty racked up six strikeouts, handed out one free pass on a hit by pitch and surrendered just two runs on seven hits while picking up the win.
“Allen had excellent command of his pitches, and that was a huge difference in the game,” Calhoun head coach Chip Henderson said. “He was lights out and filled the strike zone up. He’s just a competitor, and we can always expect him to leave it all out there on the mound.”
There was no shortage of run support for Allen, as the entire Calhoun lineup stepped into the batter’s box seeking solid contact against hard-throwing North Murray (16-6, 11-3) starting pitcher Blake Davis.
In the first inning, speedy outfielder and offensive table-setter Ryan Randall sparked the offense with a single into left field and a stolen base, first baseman Brett Potts walked and catcher Tanner Gallman reached on a base hit to load the bases for designated hitter Ben King. King responded with a scorching RBI-single up the middle to put the Jackets on the board.
Even though Davis was able to wiggle out of the rest of the first unscathed, Calhoun was back at it again when the second inning rolled around. Outfielders Carson Kemp and Randall pushed singles into the outfield to put runners in scoring position for shortstop Austin Trammell.
Trammell hit what appeared to be a harmless ground ball into the middle of the infield, but a wild throw that sailed into left field on a botched double-play attempt gifted two additional runs to Calhoun.
“The key for us at the plate was to make them make a play on the ball,” Henderson said. “We just kept the pressure on the team. When you are able to put the ball in play, you never know what can happen, so that is always one of our biggest goals.”
The Jackets provided Allen with more insurance when Gallman smacked a resounding double into the gap, King tacked on another single and Gallman came around to score when outfielder Bryson Davis impressively muscled a RBI-single into shallow right field as he was jammed on an inside fastball.
Allen helped his own cause by contributing his own single in the fifth, and the Mountaineers elected to intentionally walk third baseman Jackson Braden to set-up a bases loaded situation for the Jackets. However, the strategy didn’t exactly pay off for North Murray as they committed another egregious infield error and pushed the Calhoun run tally to five.
Gallman and Randall finished the day 2-for-4. King contributed a 2-for-3 day at the dish.
“We had some high-quality at-bats,” Henderson said. “Some of our guys were faced with 0-2 counts, battled back and produced. It wasn’t always pretty offensively, but we were able to extend some of the innings by leveling out our swings and lining the ball into the outfield, hitting flairs to drive runners in and supplying a few timely ground balls.”
Despite the team’s defensive lapses and feisty Calhoun lineup, Davis still put in a solid performance over six innings while toeing the rubber for the Mountaineers. His final stat line included four strikeouts, two walks and eight hits allowed.
Facing a solid performance from Allen, the Mountaineers only truly effective offensive inning was the fourth. In that inning, North Murray placed a runner in scoring position after a double was pounded by Davis into deep centerfield. Second baseman Nik Malchesky then roped an RBI-single to bring him home.
After catcher Jaden Baggett chipped in another single in the same inning, third baseman Spencer Perdue sent another run home by powering a base hit past the infield for a RBI.
North Murray scattered a handful of extra-base hits throughout the following innings, but Allen’s arsenal of pitches and some spectacular defensive plays, including a highlight-worthy grab by Randall in the sixth, sealed the Calhoun victory.
“Overall, it was a really solid region win for us,” Henderson said. “There were a lot of things we did out there today that we can continue to build on going forward.”
The Jackets were on the road on Tuesday to visit Coahulla Creek. (For details on that game, see Saturday’s Calhoun Times.) They will visit Adairsville on Thursday at 5:55 p.m.