Greenville splits Straughn Tournament

Published 4:12 pm Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Greenville Tigers posted two wins and two losses in last week’s tournament play at Straughn.

Coach Brad Horn said that it wasn’t the weekend he wanted, but he’d take it.

“It was good to get that many games in a short period of time,” Horn said. “Once our region games start, we have to get used to playing a game on a Thursday, then turning around and playing two the next day.”

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The Tigers faced off against Dale County with Jeremy McGinty on the mound.

McGinty got out and battled, Horn said, but the combination of too few hits and leaving runners on base cost the Tigers the game, 4-8 Dale County.

After the game, Horn said he told his players that we didn’t need to lose two in row.

The Tigers responded well, bouncing back from a loss to defeat Opp 9-2.  Rush Nimmer led the effort form the mound and at the plate. Nimmer gave up only 1 earned run and struck out 8, while also batting 2 for 3 with a double, a home run for a total of 4 RBIs.

Jay Johnson and Ozell Carter both had a productive game at the plate, with Johnson batting 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, and Carter going 2 for 3 with 1 double.

With one loss and one win, the Tigers took on Red Level. Nick Davis and Jay Johnson both saw some time on the mound, striking out 2 and 3 respectively with Davis giving up two earned runs.

Although the Tigers defeated Red Level 12-2, Horn said his squad really didn’t hit that well. The Tigers tallied 6 total hits, with the majority of runs coming from walked batters and those hit by pitch. Harper Vinson picked up 3 RBIs, batting 1 for 4. No batters on the Greenville lineup managed to eek out more than one hit for the game._Jay Johnson, Nick Davis, Rush Nimmer and Brandon Smith each claimed one RBI for the night.

For the final game of the tournament, the Tigers again found themselves playing Dale County. Ozell Carter started on the mound, but had a rough two innings.

“He left everything about belt high,” Horn said.

Dale County jumped on Carter early, picking up 2 home runs, and six runs total before Raymond Moody stepped in to take over.

Moody struck out 4 and gave up 1 earned run, but the Greenville offense just didn’t produce. The Tigers had a chance for a comeback, but let it slip by, leaving the bases loaded one inning. Brandon Smith and Harper Vinson, both deep in the Tiger lineup, stepped up, Horn said, both batting 2 for 3.