Tigers Kept Busy During Spring Break
by Perry Lewter
If a member of the Ardmore High School varsity baseball team was asked to write an essay on “How I Spent My Spring Break” the answer would be easy. The Tiger would say, “I spent my spring break playing baseball.”
The Tigers faced Butler and Giles County twice. They also played West Limestone, Tanner, Elkmont, Clements and Athens. They split with Butler, lost twice to Giles County, lost to West Limestone, defeated Tanner and Clements and lost to Clements and Athens.
Athens 10, Ardmore 9
A seventh inning rally fell short of its goal when the Ardmore Tigers dropped a 10-9 decision to the Athens Golden Eagles last Saturday.
Trailing 10-4 in the top of the seventh, the Tigers sent 10 men to bat, scored five runs and left two stranded on the bases when the contest ended. The Golden Eagles tried to stop the rally by using three pitchers.
Athens led 1-0 after one complete inning after Kevin Chronister hit a homerun.
Clay Wales got a base hit to lead off the second. Jarrod Mullins, courtesy runner, scored after stealing second and advancing around the bases.
Athens scored five runs in the bottom of the second as 11 Eagles went to bat.
Ardmore pushed across two runs in the top of the fourth after Matt Lannom drew a walk and Ryne Strong got a base hit. Lannom scored on Zach Mitchell’s single while Strong crossed the plate on Will Lewis’ sacrifice.
Athens scored a single run in the bottom of that inning.
Eric Atchley singled in the top of the sixth and scored on Jake Marlow’s double.
Athens scored three times in the sixth, but Ardmore rallied for five runs in the second. The Tigers had back-to-back singles from Strong and Mitchell. Strong scored on a throwing error and Mitchell on Matt Smith’s base hit. Atchley and Wales got back-to-back base hits and Robert Batrum was hit by a pitch. Marlow hit a single to score Smith and Atchley. Wales scored with Lannom at bat.
Mitchell led Ardmore with a double and two singles as Atchley hit three singles. Marlow had a single and double and starting pitcher Wales had a pair of hits. Smith, Lannom and Strong each had a base hit.
David Keenum pitched in relief for Ardmore.
Giles County 21, Ardmore 5
The visiting Giles County High School Bobcats hammered out 19 hits in their 21-5 win over Ardmore Saturday afternoon.
Josh Perez was credited with the pitching win as Justin Dolan was tagged with the loss. Ralph Garrett and Sam Edgmon pitched to the visitors as Clint Carroll and Jake Marlow worked on the hill for Ardmore.
The visitors set the tone early, scoring seven runs in the opening frame. Edgmon’s triple accounted for the first three batters after Perez, Rob Laxson and Rob Holley each had drawn a walk. Edgmon scored on a fielding mistake with Kelby Sutton at bat. Brent Hargrove hit a double and scored on another Tiger error with Clay Sanderson at bat. Sanderson scored on Langley Adams’ single.
Zach Mitchell hit a triple and scored for Ardmore in the first inning. He scored on a passed ball.
Mitchell scored in the second frame after drawing a walk. He stole second and scored on Will Lewis’ single.
Giles County scored eight in the third. Clay Wales drew a walk and scored on Jake Marlow’s single in the bottom of that frame.
The Bobcats scored a single run in the fourth while Ardmore countered with three runs. Mitchell and Lewis hit back-to-back doubles before Matt Smith got life on an error. Mitchell scored on the hit by Lewis. Lewis scored when Wales got a hit. Smith scored on a balk.
Holley hit a 3-run homerun for the Bobcats in the top of the seventh.
Lewis had a double and two singles for Ardmore as Mitchell hit a double and triple. Wales and Marlow each had a base hit for the Tigers.
Clements 6, Ardmore 5
The Clements Colts pushed across two runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-5 win over the visiting Ardmore Tigers in a midday contest on Friday.
Jesse Ray Cobb and Clint Manry pitched for the winners as Josh Marlow and David Keenum pitched for the Tigers.
Matt Smith had a homerun for Ardmore in the seventh as Cobb hit a round-tripper in the fourth and teammate Michael Moss hit it over the fence in the fifth.
Clay Wales hit a double and single and Eric Atchley two singles for Ardmore. Getting a base hit each for the Tigers were Will Lewis, Kyle Smith, Jake Marlow, Ryne Strong and Matt Lannom.
Blake Moore had a double for Clements as Jeremy Craig, Michael Moore, Josh Eaton and Dakota Shaw each got a base hit. Cobb had a single to go with his homerun.
The Tigers led 4-3 after five. The Colts scored a single run in the sixth. Ardmore scored in the seventh before Clements scored twice in the bottom of that inning.
Ardmore 11, Elkmont 0
Justin Dolan fashioned a 5-hitter when the Ardmore Tigers beat visiting Elkmont 11-0 last Thursday.
Matt Vaughn started on the hill for the Red Devils. Dolan had pitching help from David Keenum and Robert Batrum.
Will Lewis walked and scored in the first when Eric Atchley singled.
The Tigers scored 10 runs in the third inning. The Tigers banged out seven hits and took advantage of a pair of Elkmont errors. Matt Smith, Atchley and Clay Wales each scored twice that inning. Zach Mitchell, Kyle Smith, Jake Marlow and Will Lewis each had a base hit and scored a run that inning.
Mitchell and Atchley had a double and single each for Ardmore. Hitting a pair of singles each for the Tigers were Matt Smith, Wales, Kyle Smith and Matt Lannom. Marlow had a double and Lewis a single.
Joseph Dowd had a triple for the Red Devils while Jon Schrimsher hit a pair of singles. Matt Compton and Vaughn each had a base hit for Elkmont.
Ardmore 8, Tanner 7
Zach Mitchell scored the deciding run when Ardmore defeated visiting Tanner 8-7 last Thursday.
Mitchell hit a triple and scored when Will Lewis hit into an infield error to break a 7-7 deadlock in the bottom of the seventh.
Ardmore pushed across three runs in that frame to get the come-from-behind win.
Clint Carroll picked up the pitching win while Chip Greenhaw was tagged with the loss.
Mitchell had three singles, a triple and scored three runs to lead the winners. Eric Atchley hit a triple and single as Matt Smith and Jake Marlow each hit a pair of singles for Ardmore. Kyle Smith had Ardmore’s only other extra base hit, a double as Lewis, Clay Wales and Ryne Strong each had a hit.
Greenhaw hit a homerun for Tanner while Keith Shoulders hit a double.
West Limestone 5, Ardmore 4
Colton Hill’s homerun in the bottom of the seventh proved the difference when West Limestone stopped Ardmore 5-4 last Tuesday.
Will Lewis gave the Tigers a 1-0 advantage when he hit a single and scored on Eric Atchley’s base hit.
The Wildcats tied it in the bottom of the third when Jay Romine got a base hit and scored on Ryan Wheeler’s double.
The Wildcats scored a pair of runs in the fifth after Wheeler hit a double and Jeremy White hit into a fielder’s choice. Trey Rose’s single scored a run.
Zach Mitchell singled and scored for Ardmore in the top of the fifth.
The Wildcats took a 4-2 advantage in the sixth when Meeks hit a double and scored on Romine’s single.
The Tigers knotted the score in the top of the fourth after Mitchell and Lewis hit back-to-back singles. Matt Smith’s base hit drove in a pair of runs.
Then came Hill’s homerun to end the contest.
Giles County 6, Ardmore 4
A 5-run third inning made the difference when the Giles County High School Bobcats stopped the visiting Ardmore Tigers 6-4 last Monday.
Langley Adams led the Bobcats with a single and a double and Brent Hargrove added a pair of singles. Rob Holley and Sam Edgmon each hit a double.
Jake Marlow led the Tigers with a pair of singles as Eric Atchley, Matt Smith and Matt Lannom each had a base hit.
The Tigers scored three runs in the second and one in the third. Giles County’s other run came in the fourth.
Ralph Garrett picked up the pitching win while Clay Wales was tagged with the loss.
Ardmore began their spring break action last Saturday splitting a pair of games at Butler in Huntsville. Details from those games were not available, however Josh Marlow pitched Ardmore to an 11-4 win in the opener. They dropped the nightcap 8-7.