Warriors’ Late Push Falls Short Against MTC

The White County Warriors took another loss on the diamond Thursday night as they traveled to face Middle Tennessee Christian. White County has struggled to push runs across the plate in recent outings, and that trend continued as the Cougars handed the Warriors an 8-3 defeat.

Middle Tennessee Christian wasted little time getting the offense going. After the Warriors were retired in order in the top of the first inning, the Cougars quickly put pressure on the White County defense in the bottom half of the frame. A double followed by a hit-by-pitch put two runners on base, and a hard-hit ground ball that was mishandled by Griffin Adams allowed the first two runs to score. Moments later, TJ Finley delivered the big blow of the inning with a home run that pushed two more runs across the plate. A pair of singles and aggressive base running would bring home one more before the Warriors could get out of the inning, giving MTC a five-run lead early.

The Cougars added to their advantage in the third inning. Middle Tennessee Christian plated three more runs to stretch the lead to eight, and while the Cougars would not score again over the final four innings, the early damage had already been done.

White County’s offense finally broke through late in the game. In the sixth inning, Clay Brewington reached base with a single but was later caught stealing. Cole Gentry followed with a walk, stole second base, and eventually came home on a hard-hit infield grounder by Preston Taylor to put the Warriors on the board.

The Warriors added two more runs in the seventh inning to close the gap. Kolt Norris and Kaden Seibers opened the inning with back-to-back walks, setting the table for the White County offense. Will Thomas followed with a single that brought Norris home, and a ground ball by Austin Pionke allowed Seibers to score. Brewington would later draw a walk, but he was again caught stealing, ending the Warriors’ final scoring threat.

On the mound, Pionke was charged with the loss after starting the game for White County. The senior pitched the opening inning, allowing five runs, three of them earned, on four hits while striking out one and issuing no walks. Seibers took over in the second inning and worked through the fifth, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two. Riely Howell later entered in relief and walked two batters before Mason Seibers closed out the game, allowing just one hit over the final two innings.

The loss drops the Warriors to 1-5 on the season. White County is scheduled to return to action Saturday when they take on the Central Magnet Tigers.

WHITE COUNTY BOX SCORE

HITS: Clay Brewington 1, Cole Gentry 1, Will Thomas 1
RBI: Austin Pionke 1, Preston Taylor 1, Will Thomas 1
TB: Clay Brewington 1, Cole Gentry 1, Will Thomas 1
SB: Cole Gentry 3, Griffin Adams
CS: Clay Brewington 2
E: Griffin Adams

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