The White County Warriors collected 10 hits on Tuesday night and looked poised to add another mark in the win column, but they couldn’t hold onto the lead. A late-game rally by the Smyrna Bulldogs sent the Warriors to an 8-4 loss.

For the first three innings, both teams threatened to break the game open with runners on base, but neither side could push a run across the plate. That changed in the bottom of the fourth inning when Smyrna scored two runs on a pair of base hits and an error to take the early lead.

Trailing by two, the Warriors responded in the top of the fifth. Austin Pionke sparked the rally with a double, followed by a single from Clay Brewington and a hard-hit infield single by Preston Taylor that finally put White County on the board.

Smart baserunning helped add two more runs to the Warriors’ total. Matthew Wilson, running for Brewington, and Taylor both tagged up and advanced on a deep fly ball by Griffin Adams. Taylor later scored on an error by the Smyrna shortstop, giving White County a 3-2 lead.

But the momentum didn’t last long.

The Bulldogs answered with a six-run inning of their own in the bottom half of the fifth. Two hits and two errors erased the Warriors’ lead before Smyrna’s LJ Drayton delivered a bases-clearing triple that opened a gap White County would never close.

The Warriors tried to claw back in the sixth inning. Kolt Norris led off with a single and later scored on a deep double to right field by Wilson, cutting the deficit to 8-4. Wilson attempted to score two batters later on a Brewington double but was thrown out at the plate. A single by Cole Gentry moved Brewington to third, but that would be as close as the Warriors would get.

The loss drops White County’s record to 1-4 on the season.

Griffin Adams started on the mound for the Warriors, pitching two scoreless innings while allowing three hits and three walks and striking out two. Nick Nelson took the loss after pitching the next 2.2 innings. He allowed six runs, though only one was earned. Preston Taylor closed out the final 1.1 innings, giving up just one hit while striking out three.

WHITE COUNTY BOX SCORE 

HITS: Clay Brewington 2, Cole Gentry 2, Griffin Adams 2, Austin Pionke 1, Preston Taylor 1, Kolt Norris 1, Matthew Wilson 1 
RBI: Preston Taylor 1, Griffin Adams 1, Matthew Wilson 1 
2B: Austin Pionke, Clay Brewington, Matthew Wilson 
TB: Clay Brewington 3, Austin Pionke 2, Cole Gentry 2, Griffin Adams 2, Matthew Wilson 2, Kolt Norris 1, Preston Taylor 1 
HBP: Preston Taylor 2 
SB: Griffin Adams 2, Austin Pionke, Matthew Wilson, Preston Taylor 
E: Austin Pionke 3 

The Main Street Journal - Sparta's Spring Sports coverage is brought to you by Sparta Heating & Air Conditioning.

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