On Monday night, the Marshall County Tigers moved within one win of advancing to the championship game of the District 12-AA tournament when they defeated archrival Giles County 5-1 at home in the second round.
Coming off a 1-0 upset victory over Summit in the first round, the sixth seeded Bobcats jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning in Monday's contest, but the Tigers (21-6) answered with five runs in the bottom half of the frame to seize a 5-1 advantage.
Although Marshall County did not record a hit after the first inning and failed to score the rest of the way, MCHS starting pitcher Dylan McKnight made the lead stand by shutting out Giles County (10-21) over the final six frames to help lead the Tigers to their eighth straight win over the Bobcats.
Despite getting off to a rocky start, McKnight went the distance on the mound to earn his seventh victory of the season and racked up nine strikeouts in seven innings of work while limiting Giles County to six hits and two walks.
"I always tell the guys that the first inning and the fifth innings are the key to the game. We won the first inning and McKnight shut them down after that," said Marshall County coach Steve Reese. "He was giving them a good dose of fastballs and when he mixed in his curveball they weren't ready for it. He just pitched a great ballgame."
The Tigers also finished with six hits and two walks against Bobcat starting pitcher Carson Dickey, who suffered the loss. Bubba Houghton (2 RBI) and Aaron Hobbs each doubled to account for both MCHS extra base hits, while Chandler Harmon (1 RBI), Matt Sharp, Ryan McDaniel, and Grayson Wiles all singled.
Dickey tallied two hits to pace Giles County at the plate. Andrew Morris, William McRae, Logan Phifer, and Sean Harmond each had one hit for the Bobcats as well.
The Bobcats grabbed the momentum at the start of the game and pushed across a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Morris reached second base on an infield single and a Marshall County throwing error to start the frame before advancing to third on a McRae single. McRae was then thrown out at second base by Tiger catcher Zack Kirby on a stolen base attempt, but Morris scored on a wild pitch a few moments late to put Giles County up.
The Tigers, though, quickly turned the tide and crossed home plate five times in the bottom half of the first to pull ahead 5-1. Hobbs smacked a double down the left field line to lead off the inning before advancing to third on a Sharp infield single. After Hobbs scored on a Bobcat error and McKnight reached first base on the play, McDaniel singled to lead the bases with no outs. Following a two-run double by Houghton, McDaniel scored on a Richardson sacrifice fly to make it 4-1 before Harmon plated Houghton with a RBI single.
Giles County had a chance to cut into the deficit in the top of the second inning after putting runners on second and third with one out thanks to singles from Harmond and Dickey and a Tiger throwing error, but McKnight fanned the next two Bobcat hitters to escape the jam.
After the Bobcats left a man at third in the top of the fourth, McKnight did not allow a Giles County base runner to advance past first base over the final three innings to run the Tigers' winning streak to 10 games.
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On Monday night, the Marshall County Tigers moved within one win of advancing to the championship game of the District 12-AA tournament when they defeated archrival Giles County 5-1 at home in the second round.
Coming off a 1-0 upset victory over Summit in the first round, the sixth seeded Bobcats jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning in Monday's contest, but the Tigers (21-6) answered with five runs in the bottom half of the frame to seize a 5-1 advantage.
Pitcher's prowess
Although Marshall County did not record a hit after the first inning and failed to score the rest of the way, MCHS starting pitcher Dylan McKnight made the lead stand by shutting out Giles County (10-21) over the final six frames to help lead the Tigers to their eighth straight win over the Bobcats.
Despite getting off to a rocky start, McKnight went the distance on the mound to earn his seventh victory of the season and racked up nine strikeouts in seven innings of work while limiting Giles County to six hits and two walks.
"I always tell the guys that the first inning and the fifth innings are the key to the game. We won the first inning and McKnight shut them down after that," said Marshall County coach Steve Reese. "He was giving them a good dose of fastballs and when he mixed in his curveball they weren't ready for it. He just pitched a great ballgame."
Six-hitter
The Tigers also finished with six hits and two walks against Bobcat starting pitcher Carson Dickey, who suffered the loss. Bubba Houghton (2 RBI) and Aaron Hobbs each doubled to account for both MCHS extra base hits, while Chandler Harmon (1 RBI), Matt Sharp, Ryan McDaniel, and Grayson Wiles all singled.
Dickey tallied two hits to pace Giles County at the plate. Andrew Morris, William McRae, Logan Phifer, and Sean Harmond each had one hit for the Bobcats as well.
The Bobcats grabbed the momentum at the start of the game and pushed across a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Morris reached second base on an infield single and a Marshall County throwing error to start the frame before advancing to third on a McRae single. McRae was then thrown out at second base by Tiger catcher Zack Kirby on a stolen base attempt, but Morris scored on a wild pitch a few moments late to put Giles County up.
The Tigers, though, quickly turned the tide and crossed home plate five times in the bottom half of the first to pull ahead 5-1. Hobbs smacked a double down the left field line to lead off the inning before advancing to third on a Sharp infield single. After Hobbs scored on a Bobcat error and McKnight reached first base on the play, McDaniel singled to lead the bases with no outs. Following a two-run double by Houghton, McDaniel scored on a Richardson sacrifice fly to make it 4-1 before Harmon plated Houghton with a RBI single.
Giles County had a chance to cut into the deficit in the top of the second inning after putting runners on second and third with one out thanks to singles from Harmond and Dickey and a Tiger throwing error, but McKnight fanned the next two Bobcat hitters to escape the jam.
After the Bobcats left a man at third in the top of the fourth, McKnight did not allow a Giles County base runner to advance past first base over the final three innings to run the Tigers' winning streak to 10 games.
Although Marshall County did not record a hit after the first inning and failed to score the rest of the way, MCHS starting pitcher Dylan McKnight made the lead stand by shutting out Giles County (10-21) over the final six frames to help lead the Tigers to their eighth straight win over the Bobcats.
Despite getting off to a rocky start, McKnight went the distance on the mound to earn his seventh victory of the season and racked up nine strikeouts in seven innings of work while limiting Giles County to six hits and two walks.
"I always tell the guys that the first inning and the fifth innings are the key to the game. We won the first inning and McKnight shut them down after that," said Marshall County coach Steve Reese. "He was giving them a good dose of fastballs and when he mixed in his curveball they weren't ready for it. He just pitched a great ballgame."
The Tigers also finished with six hits and two walks against Bobcat starting pitcher Carson Dickey, who suffered the loss. Bubba Houghton (2 RBI) and Aaron Hobbs each doubled to account for both MCHS extra base hits, while Chandler Harmon (1 RBI), Matt Sharp, Ryan McDaniel, and Grayson Wiles all singled.
Dickey tallied two hits to pace Giles County at the plate. Andrew Morris, William McRae, Logan Phifer, and Sean Harmond each had one hit for the Bobcats as well.
The Bobcats grabbed the momentum at the start of the game and pushed across a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Morris reached second base on an infield single and a Marshall County throwing error to start the frame before advancing to third on a McRae single. McRae was then thrown out at second base by Tiger catcher Zack Kirby on a stolen base attempt, but Morris scored on a wild pitch a few moments late to put Giles County up.
Early power
The Tigers, though, quickly turned the tide and crossed home plate five times in the bottom half of the first to pull ahead 5-1. Hobbs smacked a double down the left field line to lead off the inning before advancing to third on a Sharp infield single. After Hobbs scored on a Bobcat error and McKnight reached first base on the play, McDaniel singled to lead the bases with no outs. Following a two-run double by Houghton, McDaniel scored on a Richardson sacrifice fly to make it 4-1 before Harmon plated Houghton with a RBI single.
Giles County had a chance to cut into the deficit in the top of the second inning after putting runners on second and third with one out thanks to singles from Harmond and Dickey and a Tiger throwing error, but McKnight fanned the next two Bobcat hitters to escape the jam.
After the Bobcats left a man at third in the top of the fourth, McKnight did not allow a Giles County base runner to advance past first base over the final three innings to run the Tigers' winning streak to 10 games.
