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West Henderson breezes past SM
Jason Merrill was four of four and drove in three runs while Casey Allison was three of four with four RBIs as West Henderson routed Smoky Mountain 15-2 last Thursday in a Western Athletic Conference baseball game played at Western Carolina’s Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.
“They hit the ball real well and dominated our pitching,” Coach Ron Yount said. “We played a good ballgame, but we just couldn’t stop their hitting.”
Smoky Mountain third baseman Clay Cantler throws to first after fielding a ground ball in last Thursday’s 15-2 loss to West Henderson. – Herald photo by Carey Phillips
The Falcons jumped in front 3-0 in the first on Merrill’s RBI double, a run-scoring single by Matt Pruitt and an error.
The Mustangs (6-12, 2-7) made it 3-1 in the bottom of the first. Matt Hawkins and Daniel Buchanan both singled, and a run scored on an error.
West took a 4-1 edge in the third when Jerry Brinkley doubled and scored on Merrill’s single.
The Falcons erupted for eight runs in the fourth as they sent 12 men to the plate and claimed a 12-1 lead. David Hyatt had a pair of doubles in the frame and drove in a run. Brinkley had an RBI triple, and Merrill drive in a run with a single. Allison doubled in a pair while John Smith and Josh Moore both had RBI singles. The other run scored on an error.
An error let another run score in the fifth and Allison blasted a two-run homer.
Brinkley, Smith and Hyatt all had two hits for West.
Hawkins was two of two with a walk for the Mustangs.
Pruitt was the winning pitcher. He allowed five hits and a walk while striking out seven.
Hawkins (4-6) took the loss.
The Mustang JVs fell to 8-8 with a 7-5 loss at the SM field. They committed four errors, struck out five times and hit four balls back to the pitcher, according to Coach Scott Manshack.
“We didn’t hit very well,” he said. “We battled hard. Our pitchers did their jobs, but we left men in scoring position.”
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