To high school athletes and their coaches, all games matter, but only District 9A games matter when it comes to a chance a post-season play. On Monday, March 31 and Tuesday, April 1, the Moore County Raiders will face the Fayetteville Tigers in their second district series of the season.

Moore County currently sits tied for first place with Eagleville at a 2-0 district record after sweeping the Huntland series on March 17 and 18. The Raiders beat the Hornets at home 6-0 on Saint Patrick’s Day, then travelled to Franklin County the following day and swept the series with a big 12-3 win.

Sparkman, Taylor earns shut out in game one

In game one of the Huntland series, Moore County shut out the Hornets 6-0 thanks in part to lights out pitching by Jay Sparkman and Cole Taylor. Sparkman earned the win and allowed just two hits and zero runs across four innings, and Taylor allowed not a single hit across three innings and 11 Hornet at bats.

Taylor and Colton Morey led in game one with two hits each a piece. Brayden Works, Peyton Martin, Landon Smith, Ethan Walls, and Aiden Webster all managed one hit each as well in game one.

Martin big bat drives in four runs in game two

The following day, big bat Peyton Martin drove in four runs to lead Moore County towards a 12-3 victory. He doubled in the sixth and the fourth inning and singled in the fifth.

Moore County managed to five-run innings in the fifth and sixth the pull away. Braylen Castell managed two hits and both Colton Morey and Blakely Bobo added one hit each.

Landon Smith earned the win from the mound. He surrendered just three hits and two runs over five innings. Aiden Webster and Jose Garcia came into relief pitch for one inning each.

Fayetteville lost both its games in the Eagleville series last week heading into this week’s match up with Moore County. They lost at Eagleville 3-1 on Monday, March 24 and 17-4 in Fayetteville on Wednesday, March 26.

The Raiders will play the Tigers at home at 6 p.m. on Monday and Fayetteville at 6 p.m. the following day. •

{The Lynchburg Times is a locally owned and locally operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We’re the only newspaper that publishes new stories every morning at 7 a.m. plus breaking news as it happens. It’s also one of the few women-owned newspapers in the state. We’re supported by both readers and community partners who believe in independent journalism for the common good. You can support us by clicking here. }