CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Motlow Bucks scored five runs in the sixth inning and sophomore Griffin Meeker shut Chattanooga State down for the final three innings in an 8-5 Motlow win Sunday to close a TCCAA three-game baseball series in Chattanooga.
Motlow (9-13, 3-6) also staged a spirited comeback in game one on Sunday, scoring five runs in the top of the seventh inning before falling 8-7. The host Tigers won Saturday’s nine-inning contest 12-4.
The Bucks were scheduled to play the Cumberland University JV on Monday, but the doubleheader was canceled. Motlow will host TCCAA rival Cleveland State (15-9, 6-2) for a three-game series this weekend, with Friday’s single game scheduled for 2 p.m. and Saturday’s doubleheader beginning at noon at the Driver Baseball Complex. Admission is free.
The Tigers (17-6, 4-5) came out strong, scoring three runs in the first inning. Motlow responded with two in the third and one in the fifth, but the Tigers added to their lead with a run in both the fourth and fifth innings to go ahead 5-3. The Bucks did their offensive damage in the sixth, scoring five runs to take the lead.
Meanwhile, Meeker, a sophomore from Manchester, took over for starter Nicholas Holbrook in the fifth and shut the Tiger offense down, allowing just one hit and one walk with two strikeouts. Holbrook gave up four earned runs and recorded nine strikeouts in his four innings of work on the mound.
Shortstop J.B. Bell, a sophomore from Buford, GA, had a big game with two hits, including a home run, two runs, and three runs batted in. Redshirt freshman John Hale, from Pleasant View, also drove in three runs with a home run in that five-run inning.
Sophomore Julius Scearce, from Lexington, KY, hit a solo home run and Kaleb Gupton, a freshman from Joelton, had two hits and scored a run. Lynchburg sophomore Ryder Morey scored two runs with a hit and an RBI.
The Bucks trailed 8-2 in Sunday’s first game before storming back with five runs in the seventh inning. Kaleb Valdez, a sophomore from Dalton, GA, led the Bucks with a home run, a double, and three runs batted in.
Hale and Scearce also had two hits each, with Hale driving in two runs and Scearce one.
Motlow pitchers Caden Alvey, Jake Gulley, and Tucker Allen combined to allow only five earned runs and five walks.
Saturday’s series opener was a big day at the plate for leadoff hitter Irvin Hernandez, a redshirt freshman from Cohutta, GA. Hernandez, who transferred to Motlow from East Tennessee State, went 3-4, including a double, with two runs batted in.
Valdez had two hits and drove in a run, and Scearce had a hit and an RBI. Aaron Osada pitched the first 2.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits. Morey pitched 4.1 innings and allowed three earned runs with two strikeouts, and Carson Cheek got the final two outs.
For more Motlow Bucks Baseball news and infomation, visit the sports information website by clicking here. •
{The Lynchburg Times is an independently-owned, community newspaper located in Lynchburg, Tennessee the home of The Jack Daniel Distillery. We focus on public service, non-partisan, rural journalism. We cover the Metro Moore County government, local tourism, Moore County schools, high school sports, Motlow State Community College, as well as whiskey industry news and regional and state stories that affect our readers.}