Lions’ arms shine in pair of pitcher’s duels

“We couldn’t have pitched it any better today,” Biggersville coach Daniel Rowsey said. “Dylan and Luke both pitched really well. They both had a lot of strikeouts, and not only is it good pitching, but it’s against two quality teams. They are both really good baseball teams.”

In the game against South Pontotoc, the Lions had their chances early. A first inning double by Drew Rowsey was left stranded, then an infield single from Overstreet in the second was erased on a double play.

Biggersville came through with two runs in the third on a Hunter Johnson double. Dylan and Drew Rowsey got on base on an error on a bunt and a hit by pitch respectively.

South Pontotoc limited them to just two more baserunners the rest of the way, both in the bottom of the sixth.

The Cougars scored their run in the fifth with a couple of key two-out hits. Biggersville picked off a couple of runners, on in the sixth and one in the seventh to prevent a rally from South Pontotoc.

In the game against Adamsville, the two stayed in a 1-1 tie until the bottom of the sixth.

The Lions scored in the first on a Hunter Johnson sacrifice fly that plated Drew Rowsey, who reached on an infield single.

Overstreet tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the seventh on a two-out infield single. The only other Biggersville hits in the game were in the third by Dylan Rowsey and the sixth by Ellsworth and Dillon Johnson.

“I’m very proud of our guys. We didn’t score a lot of runs, but we also faced good pitching,” Daniel Rowsey said. “We left a lot of runners on base and just didn’t come up with that big hit, and that’s one thing we have to work on is just getting those runners in. We had guys on second and third a lot of times and just didn’t get them in. Hunter (Johnson) had a big hit in the first game, and Luke had the big infield single in the second game to get the game tied. We don’t like ending in a tie, but it’s better than a loss.”

Adamsville scored in the first on a passed ball and in the fifth on an RBI single after an error in the outfield. Drew Rowsey picked a runner off at third to end the game in the seventh and leave the two in a tie.

In addition to the 14 strikeouts, Dylan Rowsey allowed just two hits and walked two.

“Both of our guys were able to mix it up and change speeds,” Daniel Rowsey said. “As long as you’re in and around the strike zone, that’s good. That’s what I told our guys, great things happen when you throw strikes. We didn’t walk many, and neither did the other two teams. It was two really well played ballgames.”

Kossuth 15, Bolivar Tenn. 0

The Aggies’ scoring was jump started by two big blasts in the bottom of the second inning. Jack Johnson started things off with a solo shot to left field, and Hank Eaton smashed a three-run homer just a few batters later to make it 4-0.

Kossuth scored 11 runs in the bottom of the third to end the game with the final run scoring on a balk.

TJ Oakman had the only run-scoring hit of the frame. Eaton, Logan Williams and Eli Hinton were all hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in runs. Bryson Jackson had a sacrifice fly, and Johnson had an RBI fielder’s choice.

Ashton Knight had the win with three scoreless innings.

Corinth 5, Buckhorn Ala. 3

The Warriors took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, then added an insurance run in each of the third and fifth innings.

In the bottom of the first, Grady Mitchell singled and Griffin Enis doubled to put two in scoring position. John Neal Welch had the big two-out hit to score both runners and put Corinth on the board.

Eli Burciaga drove a double to left to put runners on second and third again, and Welch came in on a passed ball to make it 3-0.

Buckhorn cut it to a one-run game with a solo homer in the top of the second.

Mitchell and Enis started the inning off in the fourth by getting on base again with a walk and a base hit. Madden Butler advanced both runners over with a groundout, and Welch had another one to bring the run in for his third RBI of the night.

Mitchell drew a walk in the fifth, and Enis smashed his second double and third hit of the night to drive him in. Samuel Curtis picked up the win, scattering six hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking three. Enis threw a pair of scoreless innings in relief, striking out two.

Hickory Flat 8, Alcorn Central 7

Trailing 8-2, the Bears nearly had another comeback as they scored five runs in the top of the seventh but eventually fell short.

Jackson Miller had two of their four hits, including an RBI single in the first inning. In the top of the seventh, Drake Williams had a two-run single to make it a one run game. Earlier in the inning, Noah Canten was hit by a pitch and Will Davis and Reed Johnson drew walks, all with the bases loaded to bring in runs. Landon O’Brien had a sacrifice fly in the fourth.