By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
LYNN – The Cedar Bluff Tigers were one of the hottest Class 1A baseball teams heading into the state playoffs. They had won nine straight games to close out the regular season, including a playoff-clinching victory over Spring Garden at Jacksonville State University last week.
But that streak, as well as the seventh-ranked Tigers’ season, ended on Friday night in a first-round doubleheader at No. 10 Lynn. The scores were 4-0 and 14-6.
In the first game, Bear senior pitcher Cale Tittle no-hit the Tigers (16-13) and finished with 15 strikeouts. He allowed just one walk to Caleb Edmondson.
Kolwyn Morrison pitched solidly himself but suffered the loss for the Tigers. He tossed 5 2/3 innings and gave up four earned runs on just two hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Edmondson worked 1/3 of an inning and gave up two hits with a strikeout.
“Kolwyn Morrison pitched a great game in the first one, but we just ran into their No. 1 in Cale Tittle,” Cedar Bluff first-year head coach Colby Coursey said. “He was lights out for them. We just didn’t get enough balls in play.”
The Bears scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning and two more in the bottom of the sixth for the final.
Cedar Bluff fell behind 3-0 in game two before battling back. Warren Wallace provided the spark the Tigers needed with a two-run homer to center field in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it a 3-2 game.
However, Lynn responded with a four-run top of the fifth to go out in front 7-2.
Cedar Bluff got those four runs back on Kaden Pack’s grand slam in the bottom half of the fifth to once again make it a one-run contest at 7-6, but the Bears put the game out of reach with five runs in the top of the sixth and two more in the top of the seventh for the final.
Hunter Stallings doubled, walked twice and scored a run for the Tigers. Edmondson walked twice and scored a run. Jacob Chambers also drew a walk and Isaac Bishop scored a run.
Pack suffered the loss after tossing 5 2/3 innings. He gave up seven earned runs on eight hits with five walks and seven strikeouts. Edmondson and Stallings worked in relief.
“Kaden threw great. He had a little issue finding the zone consistently but battled all game,” Coursey said. “He ran out of pitches in the sixth and that’s when they broke it open.”
Coursey said the Tigers “had a great season.”
“These kids have grown so much and proved many people wrong,” Coursey said. “Our two seniors, Eli McFry and Kaden Pack, did a great job of leading this team and we are proud of them.”
Even though the Tigers will miss McFry and Pack’s contributions, Coursey is looking forward to what the Tigers will have returning for next season.
“We have a great team coming back next year and we’re ready to build off of this,” he said. “I think the standard for Cedar Bluff baseball has been set and we’re excited for the future.”