LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — It happens once a year and this year the two age-old rivals split the series. On Monday, the Huntland Hornets beat Moore County by a narrow one-run margin and on Tuesday, Moore County beat the Hornets 9-5.
Hornets pull away late on Monday
On Monday, both the Raiders and Hornets struggled offensively or excelled from the mound, however you choose to see it. The Raiders got on the scoreboard first when Keller Morey hit a hard ground ball and reached base on a error from the Hornet short stop. While the catcher was distracted by Morey, Will Penn crossed home plate to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead.
They held that lead until the top of the fourth inning when Huntland’s Trace Morris scored off a hard ground ball to left field to tie the game 1-1. The game stayed knotted until the top of the sixth inning when Huntland’s Landon Keller doubled a line drive to left field scoring Alex Meyering.
Moore County’s Jacob Baker took the loss but pitched all seven innings – throwing 117 pitches and 79 strikes. Baker also snagged two flyouts/groundouts from the mound.
Balanced bats win for Moore County on Tuesday
On Tuesday, Moore County put up three runs in both the first and third innings and held off the Hornet down the stretch.
The Raiders got on the board on their fourth at bat when Will Harder singled on a hard ground ball to the Huntland left fielder. That hit scored Izaac Patterson, who had walked to first base and stolen second base on the first two Raider at bats. Peyton Martin then batted his way out of a full count – earning the triple and scoring Harder. Hayden Cooper doubled on the next at bat to score Martin giving Moore County an early three run lead.
Moore County got another three-run inning in the third. On the second at bat, Will Harder doubled again on a line drive to the Huntland left fielder – scoring Keller Morey who had walked on the first at bat of the inning. The Huntland pitcher also walked Peyton Martin on the next at bat and then Hayden Cooper ground out to second base allowing Morey to score run number four. On the next at bat, Hayden Cooper grounded out but not before Harder crossed home plate to make it 5-0. Hayden Carter then hit a hard ground ball and got to base on an error while scoring Martin for the Raider’s third score of the inning.
Huntland finally got on to the scoreboard in the fourth inning – scoring three runs to make it a 6-3 ballgame. In the top of the sixth inning, Will Penn singled on a ground ball to make it to first base then stole second base. An at bat later, Izaac Patterson hit a single – scoring Penn to make it Raider 7, Huntland 5.
Huntland managed their final scores of the game on a line drive double from Hornet Landon Keller in the bottom of the sixth inning. Moore County score twice in the ninth inning to close out the game.
Moore County managed 11 hits to Huntland’s six in Tuesday game. Will Penn, Peyton Martin, and Will Harder all led with two hits each. Kellery Morey, Hayden Cooper, Jacob Baker, Jace Long, and Izaac Patterson all got a hit each. Keller Morey got the win on the mound for Moore County. He pitched five innings – throwing 94 pitches and 62 strikes. Hayden Cooper and Hayden Carter came in to relief pitch down the stretch.
The Raiders were scheduled to play Rockvale in their first game of the Warrior Classic Tournament on Wednesday but tournament organizers postponed the game due to high winds and the threat of severe weather in Middle Tennessee. According to MCHS sports officials, the game will be made up on another date. Moore County will return to regular season play on Thursday, April 7 in Lynchburg against The Webb School in a non-district game. •
{The Lynchburg Times is the only independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}