Grissom Baseball Weekly Recap Week of 3/21 – 4/10

by Jerimy Lee · Published April 12, 2022 · Updated April 14, 2022

Thursday – 3/24 @ Buckhorn

Grissom 4, Buckhorn 5

Chris Lynam with the opposite field shot

In a back-and-forth contest, it was the Tigers who took a 4-1 lead into the bottom half of the 7^th inning. Following a leadoff double for the Bucks, Tigers’ pitchers began to struggle, walking 2 and hitting 1. The Bucks capitalized on the freebies by walking off the game with a double in the gap to clear the bases and win the game 5-4.

Junior Ty Sanderson (1-1, 3.31 ERA) picked up a No Decision working 4 innings, allowing 0 earned runs and only 1 hit with 2 Ks. The Junior Sanderson and fellow Junior Chris Lynam led the team with 2 hits and 2 RBIs each.

Friday – 3/25 @ Thompson

Grissom 10, Thompson 11

Charlie Cassingham turns on one for the RBI

The Tigers continued their road trip the following night with a trip to Alabaster to take on the Thompson Warriors. After scoring 3 in the 1^st, Thompson allowed Grissom to get back into the game with runs in both the 2^nd and 3^rd innings. The Tigers took their first lead of the game at 5-4 in the 5^th inning before Thompson responded with 6 more to take a 10-5 lead into the 6^th. Grissom once again responded with 5 runs in the 6^th to tie the game, only to lose another heartbreaker in the bottom half of the 7^th off of a 1-out single for the Warriors.

Wallace State signee Rynzo Crutcher (0-1, 3.68 ERA) picked up another No Decision following his 3 innings of work, allowing 4 runs on 3 hits. Junior Wyatt Nielsen suffered his first loss of the season in relief despite allowing only 1 hit and 1 run in his 1.2 innings out of the bullpen.

Hitters were led by Junior Ian Lee who went 3-4 in his return to the lineup (broken hand*) with 4 RBIs. Junior Ty Sanderson (3-4) and Freshman Charlie Cassingham (2-5) were the only other Tigers with multiple hits on the day.

Saturday – 3/26 vs. Austin

Grissom 4, Austin 1

Thanks to a 2-RBI triple off the bat of Senior Gage Harmon, the Tigers took an early 2-0 lead over Austin which proved to be enough on this Saturday afternoon. Harmon, along with Snead State signee Jack Carson and Junior Chris Lynam combined for 6 of the 9 Grissom hits on the day.

Freshman Charlie Cassingham (2-0, 3.27 ERA) picked up his 2^nd win of the season after working 5 solid innings, allowing only 1 run on 2 hits with 3 Ks. Junior Hayden Mai picked up his 2^nd save of the season working the final 2 innings allowing 0 runs on 1 hit.

Monday – 3/28 @ Austin

Grissom 8, Austin 4

In the Monday rematch between Grissom and Austin, the Tigers were able to get started early thanks to some timely hitting by Seniors Christian Sutphin and Gage Harmon. Grissom brought across 4 in the 1^st, 1 in the 2^nd, and 3 more in the 3^rd which proved to be enough as the Tigers picked up the 8-4 victory.

Junior Trent Wagoner (3-2, 4.20 ERA) picked up the Win after working 4 innings with 4 Ks and only 1 BB. Senior Gage Harmon and Junior Ian Lee worked the final 3 innings allowing 0 runs on 3 hits.

Lawson State signee Christian Sutphin (.392 AVG) led the team with 2 hits, while Junior Ty Sanderson picked up 3 RBIs to bring his season total to 14.

Thursday – 3/31 vs. 5A #3 Madison Academy

Grissom 5, Madison Academy 4

Ian Lee getting the swing-and-miss strikeout

After Madison Academy jumped out to the early 1-0 lead, the Tigers responded in the 2^nd with 5 of their own. Although the Mustangs scraped across 2 more in the 4^th and 1 in the 7^th, Junior Ian Lee shut the door on the 5A powerhouse in the 7^th to pick up his 1^st Save of the season.

Junior Ty Sanderson (2-1, 3.09 ERA) picked up the win working 3.2 in relief, striking out 3 and allowing only 1 earned run on 4 hits. Senior Eli Kelly (.333 AVG) led the team with 2 hits while Junior Trent Wagoner’s 3 RBIs proved to be the difference in the game.

Saturday – 4/2 vs. Westminster Christian Academy

Grissom 1, Westminster 5

Eli Kelly with the line drive up the middle

The Tigers suffered a tough loss on Senior Day to Westminster as they continued their strong 2022 campaign. Lawson State signee Christian Sutphin picked up a No Decision starting and working just 1 inning, striking out the side. Florida State College at Jacksonville signee Logan Davis worked a hitless inning out of the bullpen striking out 3 of the 4 batters that he faced. Seniors Eli Kelly and Patrick Hartung picked up the only hits on the day for Grissom as they fell 5-1.

Tuesday – 4/5 vs. Sparkman (Game 1)

Grissom 1, Sparkman 0

Ian Lee painting the outside corner for the strikeout to end the game

In a pitching duel between the Tigers and Senators in Game 1 of the much-anticipated Area opener, it was Grissom who got the last laugh thanks to the 3^rd inning run scored off a groundout by Junior Ty Sanderson. Both teams brought across only 4 hits apiece as both sides were dominant on the mound.

Wallace State signee Rynzo Crutcher (1-1, 3.04 ERA) picked up the Win working 5 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits and striking out 3. Junior Ian Lee picked up his 2^nd Save of the season shutting down the Senators in the final 2 innings, allowing only 1 hit with 3 Ks.

Thursday – 4/7 @ Sparkman (Game 2)

Grissom 1, Sparkman 3

In another solid pitching matchup between the two teams, it was Sparkman who took advantage when it mattered most, to tie the series at 1-1. Junior Ty Sanderson was the leader at the plate for Grissom in Game 2 as he went 2-3 on the day. On the mound, Sanderson (2-2, 2.88 ERA) suffered the loss despite allowing only 1 earned run through 4 innings of work with 2 Ks and 0 BBs. Juniors Trent Wagoner and Mitchell Grigsby worked the final 2 innings, allowing only 1 hit and 0 runs in relief.

Thursday – 4/7 @ Sparkman (Game 3)

Grissom 3, Sparkman 4

Christian Sutphin goes off the RC wall for 2 RBI

Lawson State signee Christian Sutphin (.369 AVG, 16 RBIs) picked up 2 big RBIs in the 1^st inning to give the Tigers the early lead. Nevertheless, the Tigers allowed Sparkman to hang around in Game 3 as they brought across 2 runs in the 2^nd inning, followed by 2 more in the 4^th off a Home Run, which proved to be the difference as the Senators took the deciding Game 3 of the series.

Charlie Cassingham with 6 strikeouts on the day

Freshman Charlie Cassingham (2-1, 3.85 ERA) took the loss following his 4 innings of work in which he picked up 6 Ks and allowed only 3 hits. Junior Ian Lee (0.00 ERA, 14 Ks/0 BBs) was once again “lights out” out of the bullpen working the final 2 innings in shutout fashion.

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