Senior pitcher Dylan McKnight helped the Marshall County Tigers (9-4, 5-2 District) collect their fourth straight win on Friday night by tossing a complete game shutout to lead MCHS to 2-0 win over the Lewis County Panthers (4-8, 2-6 District) at home.

McKnight outdueled Lewis County staff ace Charter Helton and racked up 10 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings of work while limiting the Panthers to just five hits and two walks en route to earning his third win of the year.

Good night

"Helton held Spring Hill to one run earlier in the season so we knew it was going to be a pretty good pitcher's duel between him and McKnight. Dylan's curveball was breaking off the table tonight," said Marshall County coach Steve Reese.

MCHS did commit two errors in the contest, but offset that by throwing out three Lewis County runners on the base paths.

The Tigers, meanwhile, finished with eight hits and a walk against Helton, who went the distance on the mound for the Panthers and suffered the loss.

Hayden Bailey, McKnight, and Grayson Wiles tallied two hits apiece to lead MCHS offensively with Bailey driving in a run. Ryan McDaniel (1 RBI) and Aaron Hobbs each had one hit for Marshall County as well.

Michael Greene notched two hits to pace Lewis County at the plate, while Cody Owen, Anthony Cannons, and Blake Carroll all had one hit.

Three-inning wait

The Tigers left the bases loaded in the first inning, but scratched out a run in the bottom of the third to take a 1-0 lead. Following a leadoff single by McKnight, courtesy runner Connor Bush advanced to second on a passed ball before Bailey laced a one-out RBI single into left centerfield.

In the top of the fourth, the Panthers put runners on first and second with two outs thanks to a single by Owen and a Ryan Bell walk, but McKnight struck out Cannons to escape the inning unscathed.

Marshall County gave McKnight a little more wiggle room by pushing across a run in the bottom of the fifth to open up a 2-0 advantage. McKnight smacked a single into right field to lead off the inning, before courtesy runner Connor Bush moved to second on a wild pitch. After Matt Sharp drew a walk, Bush advanced to third on a Bailey fly out prior to racing home on a RBI sacrifice bunt by McDaniel.

Rally stopped

Lewis County left two men on base in the sixth inning, before mounting one final rally attempt in the top of the seventh when they put runners on first and second with two outs with the help of a MCHS error and a Carroll single.

McKnight, however, bore down and fanned Brady Pace to wrap up his first shutout of the season.