By Kyle Parmley
MOUNTAIN BROOK – Clay-Chalkville was on the opposite end of run-rule games Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars took their show to the annual Mountain Brook Spring Break Tournament and split a pair of games against Carver-Birmingham and Mountain Brook, the second-ranked team in Class 7A.
Mountain Brook took the latter game of the day, shutting out the Cougars 10-0. The Cougars could not get the bat off their shoulder, much less string together any runs off Spartans starter Hunter Holcomb. Six of the first seven outs Holcomb recorded were strikeouts, every one of them looking.
“We got caught trying to be the umpire, and didn’t get off to a good note because we were taking too many pitches,” Clay-Chalkville head coach Bubba Roberts said.
Clay-Chalkville shortstop Tyler Duke swings at a pitch in a game at Hewitt-Trussville last season.
file photo by Ron Burkett
Holcomb went the full five innings, striking out nine, to earn the victory.
Clay-Chalkville’s biggest threat came in the fourth inning, as the Cougars loaded the bases without a hit on a Wesley Meier walk, a Chandler Parker hit by pitch and a Dayne Edwards walk. Tyler Duke’s fielder’s choice ended the inning. Duke recorded the lone hit of the game for the Cougars in the third inning.
Blake Petty ran into some troubles from the get-go on the mound. In an inning and a third, he gave up seven runs on six hits and three walks. Parker came on in relief and pitched well into the fifth, until the Spartans scored three runs to go up 10 and end the game.
“Chandler came in and did pretty well,” Roberts said. “He made some good pitches, even in that last inning. They just did a nice job adjusting to some pitches. They’re a real good team.”
The first game of the day for the Cougars was anti-climactic, as they knocked off Carver-Birmingham 11-1 in a five-inning contest. Clay-Chalkville took control of the proceedings with a four-run first inning in which it sent 10 batters to the plate. The Cougars stole more than 10 uncontested bases in the frame due to the low velocity of the Rams’ pitcher, but only registered a single hit, due to an error, two walks and three hit batters.
The Cougars put up five runs in the second inning with some hard hit balls. Matthew Calvert drove in a run with a double ripped down the left field line. After a single from Jeremy Rhodes, Meier stroked a double to the opposite field to score Calvert. Meier came in to score on a Jalen Buckner bloop single to left.
Rhodes took to the mound for Clay-Chalkville and went the distance in the five-inning contest to earn the win. He allowed four hits and a single run, impressively striking out nine batters. Eight of his nine outs recorded between the second and fourth innings were via the strikeout.
Christian Crawford provided the entertainment during the game. During his first at-bat in the bottom of the second, Crawford slung his bat on a swing-and-miss all the way to Roberts standing in the third base coaches’ box. In the third inning, Carver’s Christopher Dye struck a ball into left. He attempted to stretch the hit to a double, and during the play at second ran into Crawford, knocking him into the air. Dye, quite a bit larger than Crawford, was safe at second, and gave the crowd a laugh.
“In the first game, we had to get our work in,” Calvert said. “Against Mountain Brook, you could easily tell they are one of the best teams in the state. They could hit the ball anywhere and you just have to make routine plays.”
Clay-Chalkville returns to Mountain Brook on Monday afternoon to play a pair of games against Ragland and Cedar Bluff. The game against Ragland will start at 2 p.m., with Cedar Bluff to follow. The Cougars conclude tournament play with a game against Moody on Tuesday.
