Grissom Baseball Weekly Recap – Week of 4/5-4/10

by Jerimy Lee · April 12, 2021

Monday – 4/5 @ Scottsboro

JV – Grissom 3, Scottsboro 0

Cameron Hearn with a shot to the left center gap

In a game ruled by pitching, it was a 3^rd inning 2-RBI double by Cameron Hearn that drove in the first runs of the game as it proved to be enough for the Tigers to pick up the victory. Starting Pitcher Josh Hammonds picked up his first Win of the season as he worked a Complete Game, 1 hit Shutout with a season-high 9 Ks.

JV – Grissom 5, Scottsboro 3

Game 2 of the double header also featured another solid pitching performance by the Tigers as they allowed only 1 hit for the second straight game. Sophomore Trent Wagoner picked up the Win as he worked 3.1 innings, striking out 9 Scottsboro hitters. Sophomore Hayden Mai worked the final 1.2 innings picking up the Save as he allowed 0 hits and struck out 2.

Grissom JV was able to put together 8 hits in the night cap against the Wildcats. Sophomore Ian Lee remained hot at the plate as he picked up 3 hits and 1 RBI. Sophomore David Hughes added 2 more hits and 2 RBIs for the Tigers as they completed the road sweep on Monday.

Tuesday – 4/6 @ 7A #6 Sparkman

Varsity – Grissom 2, Sparkman 6

Ty Sanderson with one of his two hits on the day

Following a leadoff single and an error, the Tigers were in business early against the Senators. However, a strikeout and a Batters’ Interference call hindered the Grissom rally as they were able to bring across only 1 run in the inning off of a Tyler Sanderson 2-out single. Tigers’ hitters were stuck in a lull at the plate for the next few innings as they struggled to get anything going offensively. Sparkman capitalized on some key mistakes in the 2^nd inning by the Tigers as a Grand Slam gave the Senators a 4-1 lead, which proved to be all that was needed for this area contest.

Wallace State signee John Allen Stogner suffered the loss, although he allowed only 4 hits in 5 innings of work, striking out 4. Junior Jack Carson and Sophomore Tyler Sanderson each had 2 hits apiece, with Sanderson and Junior Gage Harmon driving in the only runs of the day for Grissom. With the loss, the Tigers fell to 0-1 in Area play.

Thursday – 4/8 vs. 7A #6 Sparkman

Varsity – Grissom 8, Sparkman 3

Chris Lynam smokes one to the left center gap!

After dropping Game 1 of the Area opener on Tuesday, the Tigers were able to bounce back with a big 8-3 victory over the Senators. Following a leadoff double in the 2^nd inning by Sophomore Chris Lynam, the bats remained hot in the inning and scraped together 4 runs in the inning. Lynam and Troy signee Dillon Cook led Grissom hitters in Game 2 of the Area matchup with 2 hits each. Martin Methodist signee drove in 2 of the Tigers 8 runs as the team put together 8 hits on the day.

Snead State commit Evan Steckmesser (3-1, 3.50 ERA) picked up the huge Win working 4.1 innings, allowing only 3 runs on 3 hits and striking out 8 Sparkman hitters. Junior Rynzo Crutcher was once again shut down out of the bullpen as he picked up his team-leading 4^th Save of the season working the final 2.2 innings, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 3. With this victory, the Tigers earned at least a split with the Senators in the Area opener.

Varsity – Grissom 7, Sparkman 6

Dillon Cook with a shot to right center!

With Game 3 of the series now being a must-win for each team, we saw a back-and-forth matchup with 13 total runs and 17 combined hits between the two teams. After back-to-back singles in the bottom half of the 1^st inning, Dillon Cook drove in both runs on a clutch 2-RBI double to give the Tigers the early 2-0 lead. Sparkman bounced back in the 2^nd with 2 of their own to tie the game and then took the lead in the 3^rd with back-to-back Home Runs, giving them a 5-2 lead.

After more back-and-forth runs from each side, it was the Senators who held a 6-4 lead entering the bottom half of the 6^th inning. After 2 BB’s and a Sacrifice Fly driving in 1 RBI for Junior Jackson Carson, the Tigers cut the lead to 6-5. Senior Cannon Raby then followed with a massive game-tying RBI double to tie the game with 2 outs in the 6^th. The double was followed by a major-league pop up that was misplayed by the Sparkman infield, bringing across the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run for the Tigers.

Cannon Raby with a blast to right center, driving in the tying run

Hitters were led by Cannon Raby, Sophomore Tyler Sanderson, and Senior Dillon Cook who all combined for 6 of the Grissom 9 hits in the game. Wallace State signee Will Varmette picked up a No Decision as he topped out at 91 mph during his 4.1 innings of work where he struck out 5. Dillon Cook (4-2, 1.91 ERA) picked up the Win in relief as he worked the final 2.2 innings, allowing 0 runs and only 2 hits, striking out 4. This 7-6 victory for Grissom gives them the tiebreaker over the Sparkman Senators if the two teams remain tied at the end of Area play.

Friday – 4/9 @ Huntsville

JV – Grissom 4, Huntsville 4 (F/13 Innings)

After back-and-forth scoring early in the game, pitching on each side proved to be the difference. With the Panthers JV leading 4-2 entering the 4^th inning, the Tigers responded with RBI singles off the bat of Sophomore Chuck Heath and Sophomore Wyatt Nielson to tie the game at 4. Those were the final runs of the game, as the contest was called a tie after the 13^th inning with the game remaining tied at 4-4.

8^th Grader Garrett Blacklock led Grissom hitters with 3 hits, as Cameron Hearn and Wyatt Nielson each added 2 more hits each. Sophomore Blake Moon got the start for Grissom and worked 2.1 innings before Sophomore Hayden Mai worked 7 shutout innings in relief, striking out 11 hitters and picking up a huge double play in the bottom half of the 9^th to work out of a bases loaded jam. Sophomore Trent Wagoner worked the final 3.2 innings for the Tigers, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 5.

Saturday – 4/10 @ James Clemens

Varsity – Grissom 1, James Clemens 5

Pitching struggled early for the Tigers in the Saturday matchup as the Jets turned 2 HBPs, 2 BBs, and a double into 3 runs which proved to be all that was needed on the day. Despite only scraping together 2 hits, James Clemens was able to pick up the 5-1 victory in the 7A matchup. Grissom pitchers combined for 10 BBs, 2 HBPs, and 5 Ks on the afternoon. Troy signee Dillon Cook remained hot at the plate as he led the team with 3 hits, as Sophomore Chris Lynam and Junior Trevor Broome picked up the 2 remaining hits for the Tigers.

Upcoming Games

Tuesday 4/13 – @ Albertville (Area) – V 4:30
Tuesday 4/13 – JV Tourney @ Bob Jones High School vs. Madison Academy – 6:00 ; vs. James Clemens – 8:00
Wednesday 4/14 – Freshman Tourney @ Huntsville High School vs. New Hope – 6:00
Thursday 4/15 – vs. Albertville (Area) – V 4:30/7:00
Friday 4/16 – Freshman Tourney @ Huntsville High School vs. Cullman – 4:00

AREA STANDINGS THROUGH WEEK 1