Photo: Coosa Christian’s Ashton Clemmons delivers a pitch during the Conquerors’ 7-2 loss to Southeastern last Tuesday (Apr. 3) in Gadsden. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
Coosa Christian opened its Class 1A, Area 11 schedule on a sour note last Tuesday (Apr. 3), falling to Southeastern, 7-2, in Gadsden.
The Conquerors had a tough day against Mustang starting pitcher Albert Tinney, who limited the hosts to six hits and four walks over seven innings. Coosa had runners in scoring position nine times, and in seven of those situations Tinney got the visitors get out of the inning unscathed. His bases-clearing double in the top of the first inning provided the visitors with a 4-0 lead and gave him all the support he needed.
“[Tinney] started out very strong and stayed that way the whole game,” said Coosa head coach Joey Millican. “We just couldn’t catch up with him the whole day.”
The Conquerors twice loaded the bases but failed to cash in. Coosa wound up leaving 10 men on base and committed five errors in the field.
“We couldn’t make the plays when we needed to and couldn’t hit the ball,” said Millican. “We just couldn’t manufacture a run when we needed it. When you don’t put the ball in play, it’s makes for a long day.”
Conqueror starter Ashton Clemmons rebounded following a four-run first inning, allowing just one earned run and striking out seven the rest of the way. In seven innings, Clemmons scattered 10 hits and four walks with eight strikeouts.
“Ashton settled in after that [first inning] and hit his spots,” said Millican. “We just couldn’t make the plays behind him to make a game of it.”
Clemmons had two hits, while Justus, Juston Waits, Foster and Connor Belyeu each had one.
Tinney went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored, while Steven Wadsworth went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Coosa couldn’t get to Tinney until the bottom of the fifth, when Clemmons singled and scored on Jackson Justus’ double. Will Fisher’s base hit then drove in Justus. By that time, however, Southeastern had pushed across two more runs and added another in the seventh. Following Foster’s hit, Tinney retired six of the final seven Coosa batters to wrap up the win.
With Southeastern currently in the driver’s seat for first place in the area (the Mustangs twice defeated Appalachian last week), the Conquerors must sweep the Mustangs on Thursday in a doubleheader in Remlap.
“We’re certainly capable of doing that,” said Millican. “We’ve got two good guys in Jackson and Caiden (Lipscomb), and we have a few guys that can help out in relief. So I feel pretty good about our chances.”