Mavs bring thunder
Explosive bats power Anderson County to four opening-week wins
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Blake Lowe (13) of Anderson County connects for a home run during the Mavericks’ game against The King’s Academy on Saturday, March 7, in Seymour. Lowe drove in two runs with the blast during a five-run third inning as Anderson County defeated the Lions 12-8. - Tony Cox
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Landry Sharp delivers a pitch for Anderson County during the Mavericks’ game against The King’s Academy on Saturday, March 7. Sharp earned the win after throwing 70 pitch- es, including 40 strikes, as Anderson County defeated the Lions 12-8. - Tony Cox
Anderson County High School made a trip to the Class AAA state baseball tournament in 2025.
But the Mavericks had a short stay, losing their first two games at Spring Fling.
The Mavericks have aspirations to return to the Midstate, and they’ve opened the 2026 campaign by winning four of their first five games, while playing a tough schedule.
The Mavericks (4-1) opened the season with a pair of wins as they began with a 5-0 shutout at Greenback on Monday, March 2.
They were on the road again the following day, where they outslugged Powell 14-6 at Danny T. Maples Field in Northwest Knox County.
After a day off on Wednesday, Anderson County traveled to North Knox County’s Halls/Crossroads community, where it was blanked 3-0 for its first loss of the season.
The Mavs, however, bounced back to rout Maryville Christian School 14-1 in their home opener Friday night.
They closed out the week by topping The King’s Academy 12-8 on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re going to play the tough teams this year,” said ACHS Coach Josh Boynton, who recently won his 100th game as the Mavericks’ head coach. “We’re going to play Oak Ridge and Mt. Juliet, and we played Powell and these guys (Knoxville Halls). We’re going to play the good teams to get us ready for May.”
In the season opener early last week, Wil Ridenour and Jeremiah Owens combined to shut out the Cherokees.
Offensively, leadoff man Nolan Benson set the table for the Mavericks as he collected three hits, including a double. He also scored twice and drove in a run.
Blake Lowe doubled and drove in a run. Jackson Harris and Titus Fedders both singled and scored.
Against the Panthers, Benson had three hits and drove in four runs. Owens had two hits, including a double, and scored twice.
Harris had three extra-base hits, including two doubles and a triple. He scored three runs and knocked in a pair.
Fedders had two hits and two RBIs. He also scored twice.
Clay Fletcher went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
On Thursday, the Mavericks were limited to three hits against Knoxville Halls. Sophomore right-hander Fisher Green threw six shutout innings and struck out nine.
Boynton was impressed with Green’s performance.
“He’s good,” Boynton said. “He’s the best righty that we’ll see all year, and he just competes on the mound. I don’t think he had his best stuff, but he just competed.
“He’s got a couple of years of high school baseball left after this year and he’s going to be fun to watch. I’m just glad we don’t have to see him in our district, and we’ll see him outside of it. It was good for us to see Fish today because we’re all getting ready for May.”
On Friday, the Mavericks bounced back with a 14-1 victory in their home opener against Maryville Christian.
Lowe hit a home run in that game, while Ridenour and Owens both doubled and scored two runs. Both also drove in three runs.
Against the Lions on Saturday, Lowe added another round-tripper. He had two hits and scored twice.
