Big swings power Mavericks into tourney
It was a busy and eventful final week of the regular season on the baseball diamond for Anderson County High School.
The Mavericks (24-10 overall, 8-2 in District 4-AAA) closed things out by splitting a home doubleheader against Girard (Ohio) on Thursday night.
ACHS won the opener 13-2, and after senior night festivities, dropped the nightcap 8-2.
Anderson County entered the District 4-AAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed Tuesday night (results were not available at press time), but the doubleheader split left Coach Josh Boynton with mixed emotions.
“We’re the No. 1 seed, and that means we’ll be at home for the whole tournament, but we’re not exactly where I would like us to be,” Boynton said.
“In that doubleheader against the Ohio team, we played well in the first game and then honored our seniors. After that, I don’t know what happened. I asked the guys, but nobody really had an answer. The good thing is that we’re going into the tournament pretty healthy.”
In the first game against Girard, Jackson Harris belted a home run, while Jeremiah Owens doubled, scored twice and drove in two runs. Wil Ridenour went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, a double and a run scored.
In the loss to Girard, Tripp Haire doubled and scored, and Reece Wilkerson collected two hits, including a double, and scored once.
Earlier in the week, Anderson County topped Karns 7-3 on Tuesday, April 22. Clay Fletcher, Strickland, Ty Wilson and Nolan Benson each had two hits. Wilkerson doubled and scored against the Beavers.
The Mavericks opened the week by closing out district play with a doubleheader sweep of Scott High School.
Ridenour threw a perfect game in the first matchup, striking out seven over five innings in a 6-0 victory.
“That was great for us, because a perfect game certainly doesn’t happen every day,” Boynton said.
Alex Bond went 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored. Benson tripled, scored and drove in a run, while Strickland doubled, knocked in one run and scored another.
In the nightcap against the Highlanders, Landry Sharp tossed a three-inning, one-hit shutout, striking out five and hitting one batter. Sharp also had a hit and two RBIs at the plate.
Harris doubled, tripled, stole a base, drove in four runs and scored twice.
Strickland added two hits, including a double, with two RBIs and two runs scored. Haire collected two hits, scored twice, stole a base and knocked in two runs.
