South Shelby Shelves Eagles At Knox County

South Shelby Shelves Eagles At Knox County

By David Sharp
South Shelby scored five second inning runs, snapping a three all tie in April 20 varsity baseball play at Knox County. The Cardinals hit the host Eagles with a 14 hit attack, winning by a final score of 15-7.
Brock Couch and Lance McMahon struck out one Cardinal batter per inning, but South Shelby was able to center enough deliveries to win.
Wyatt Proper belted a home run, keying a three run South Shelby first inning. Four of the five batters at the top of the Cardinal order reached base off KCHS starting hurler Lance McMahon.
McMahon issued a one out walk to Shane Smith. A strikeout and a fly ball stranded Smith on second base. Knox County came right back and tied the score.
Lance McMahon lit the fuse for the three run rally with a one out hit. Tristan Lonberger drilled a three run homer after Dylan Morgret singled and Cameron Morford doubled. Morgret was thrown out attempting to steal.
South Shelby starter Chase Gaines settled down after the first inning, striking out three of the next six Knox County hitters. The Cardinals rapped out five hits during a five run second inning.
Brock Couch relieved Lance McMahon on the mound during inning two. Danton Harvey, Wyatt Proper and Shane Smith stroked South Shelby doubles. The Cardinals led 8-3 after two innings of play.
Knox County battled back into contention with three fourth inning runs. Keanan Kite followed Cameron Morford’s leadoff single with a three run home run. Tristan Lonberger and Colton Danger recorded fourth inning hits.
South Shelby extended their 8-6 edge with a pair of fourth inning runs. Four Knox County errors and a walk helped the Cardinals score five times in the fifth inning.
The Eagles (4-9) scored a seventh inning run. Brock Couch led off with a base hit and later scored, rounding out the 15-7 final score. South Shelby scored 15 runs on 14 hits. Chase Gaines struck out seven en route to the win. Wyatt Proper went 4-5 with a homer and four South Shelby runs scored.
Danton Harvey was 3-5 at the dish with three runs scored. Knox County scored seven runs on 12 hits. Cameron Morford was 3-4 with a double. Tristan Lonberger hit a home run and scored twice. Lonberger and Dylan Morgret had two Eagle hits each.
“They came out and hit the ball well. They started six freshmen,” said Knox County coach Jesse Crawford of the hard-hitting Cardinals. “Lance McMahon left the ball up in the zone and they hit him early. Defensively we kind of struggled.”
Brock Couch pitched six innings with six strikeouts. Lance McMahon pitched one inning with one strikeout.
“They took the upper hand. We came back after facing some adversity early,” Jesse Crawford said. “Tristan Lonberger and Keanan Kite hit three run homers bringing us back within a 9-6 score.”
“We hit the ball well, but our pitching and defense struggled. We are trying to shore things up for the post season.” Lance McMahon led the Eagles with a .511 batting average after the South Shelby game. Cameron Morford and Dylan Morgret were batting .409 each. Six different Eagles had 12 or more hits.