MANCHESTER — Jason Smith’s Clayton County Tigers remained unbeaten at 7-0 while advancing in the Class 2A, Section 7 Tournament after defeating defending state champion Whitley County, 5-4, on Tuesday.
”I’m so proud of our guys,” Clay County coach Jason Smith said. “Since basketball these guys have worked their tails off to get ready in a hurry and it’s paid off.
“Brandin was unbelievable tonight on the mound and gave us what we needed,” he added. “He kept their bats down long enough for Ethan to deliver a big two-run homer and Hearld Sizemore and Tate Rice to deliver RBI singles. We beat a great team tonight. Proud of my guys.”
The Colonels took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning but the Tigers (7-0) responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-1 edge.
Whitley County tied the game at three apiece in the second inning before Clay County took the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the second.
The Colonels (5-4) cut their deficit to 5-4 in the fourth inning but couldn’t push across any more runs.
“Never good to lose, but we’re going to find out a lot about this team over the next couple of weeks,” Shope said. “We have a tough stretch of games over the next couple of weeks. We’ve seen some good arms and are going to continue to get everyone’s best. It will pay off if we continue working. We’re still trying to find out a lot about this team. I love that we’re seeing some early season adversity.”
Clay County’s Brandin Crawford got the win on the mound, tossing a complete game while allowing only three hits, and no earned runs. He struck out 11 batters.
Ethan Jackson continued his red-hot hitting at the plate, going 1-for-2 with a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. Tate Rice connected with a hit and drove in two runs while Hearld Sizemore finished with a hit and an RBI.
Brady Bargo took the loss for Whitley County, lasting two innings while surrendering four hits, five earned runs and striking out two batters.
Trey Walton and EJ Allen combined to pitch the final four innings, allowing no runs or hits while striking out four batters.
Tyler Rose led Whitley County with two hits and one run scored while EJ Allen finished with a hit, an RBI, and a run scored.
