Washington hangs on to defeat Tigers
McClain's Kaden Penwell leads off second against Washington. (HCP Photos/Jim Jones)
The McClain Tigers and Washington Blue Lions were locked up in a good old-fashioned pitchers’ duel Monday night on Tom Hixson Field in Greenfield.
Washington’s sophomore starter Will Miller and McClain senior Haydon Hice both pitched outstanding ball games, but the Blue Lions escaped with the hard-earned 3-1 victory when they scored two runs in the top of the sixth after two batters had been retired.
The Tigers and Hice would have gotten out of the inning unscathed, but a two-out fielding error contributed to the two unearned runs.
The Blue Lions took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but after that, Hice was masterful on the mound for McClain.
The Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Owen Sykes led off with a walk and came around to score on an RBI by Jayden Allison.
Washington scored the two runs in the top of the sixth on three hits, but the game should have remained tied 1-1 if not for the fielding miscue by McClain. But the Tigers had scoring opportunities earlier in the game when they loaded the bases but failed to score.
Tanner LeMaster came into the game relieving Miller in the sixth and struck out the side around a single by the Tigers Cohen Six.
Hice retired the Blue Lion hitters in order in the top of the seventh, including a pair of strikeouts, but McClain stranded two more base-runners in the bottom of the seventh and suffered another disappointing a low-scoring loss when they failed to score runs despite excellent pitching.
McClain played Nelsonville-York Tuesday at home, then is scheduled to travel to Chillicothe Wednesday, April 26 and to play Western Latham Thursday, April 27 at the V.A. field in Chillicothe before returning home Friday, April 28 to host Hillsboro.
