Coffee County scored a run and then loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Warren County’s Layne Roberts pitched his way out of trouble with a strikeout, leaving the bases loaded and the CHS Red Raiders with a 5-4 District 6-4A loss Monday night in McMinnville.
The loss drops the Raiders to 3-6 overall, 1-2 in district play. The Raiders and Pioneers will be back at it Tuesday night, this time in Manchester, to complete the two-game series. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Powers Field.
Monday night in McMinnville, the Raiders fell behind in the second inning and never fully recovered. Warren County scored 2 in the second and then one apiece in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 5-3 lead into the seventh frame.
After drawing a walk and stealing second base, Coffee County’s Caleb Moran scored on a throwing error by the Pioneers to cut the deficit to 5-4. With two outs, Jacob Holder Walked, Aiden Robertson singled and Nate Rutledge was intentionally walked to load the bases. But a Roberts strikeout of Brendan Sheppard with a nasty curveball ended the game.
Holder fell to 0-2 in district starts – allowing 5 runs (3 earned) over 4 innings of work. He allowed 4 hits and struck out 5, but walked 6 Pioneer batters. Timothy Henderson tossed two perfect innings in relief, striking out 4 and now allowing a hit or a walk.
Brady Nugent, Holder and Robertson each picked up an RBI at the plate for the Raiders. Nugent had two hits, including a double. Holder smacked a triple. The Raiders outhit the Pioneers 5-4 – but each team made 4 defensive errors.
