No. 3 ranked Hornets split pair of games with Hughes Springs JV
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The No. 3 ranked Miller Grove Hornets traveled to Hughes Springs Monday for a pair of games against the Hughes Springs junior varsity team. After opening their season with six consecutive wins, the Hornets knew they would have a tough test against the 3A junior varsity team.
Game One
Miller Grove opened the first game of the double header with a huge inning, putting themselves in the driver seat from the very beginning. Jacob George and Lance Davis opened the game with a pair of walks, before Jagger Qualls hit a RBI single to give Miller Grove a quick 1-0 lead.
Landon Burnett followed with a single of his own, loading the bases with no outs. Davis and Qulls each came in to score on wild pitches, before Lexton Sly grounded out to bring in Burnett, quickly extending Miller Grove’s lead to 4-0. Later in the inning Tanner Hensley grounded out to score Kavan Smith, giving the Hornets a 5-0 lead before they even hit the field.
Unfortunately for Miller Grove, they weren’t able to find anymore offense in the first game, though their pitching and defense looked good for the first few innings. Starting pitcher Jacob George didn’t allow a run until the bottom of the third inning, when the Hughes Springs junior varsity was able to cut the score to 5-4.
With a bit of momentum on their side, Hughes Springs came back in the bottom of the fourth and put together a good inning, scoring three runs on four hits to make it a one-run game.
The bottom of the fifth is when they broke the game wide open, driving in seven runs to take a commanding lead. Hughes Springs added another four runs in the bottom of the sixth, taking game one by a final score of 15-5.
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Game Two
After taking their first loss of the season, Miller Grove didn’t let themselves get down, as they bounced back looking strong in the second outing. Tanner Hensley got the call as the starting pitcher and had a quick first inning to set the tone.
In the top of the second it was Ethan George who gave the Hornets a huge jolt of life, hitting a two-out triple, driving in Eastin Christian and Bradley Nordin. The very next inning Hensley helped himself out, bringing in Burnett on a sacrifice that gave the Hornets a 3-0 lead.
Hensley also continued to do well on the mound. After allowing a leadoff single, Hensley retired the next three batters to keep his shutout intact.
The top of the fourth looked like it was going to be a quiet one for the Hornets, after the first two batters were retired. With two outs in the inning, Miller Grove was able to load the bases and even bring a run in when Lexton Sly was hit by a pitch to bring in Qualls. The Hornets added one more run in the frame, pushing their lead to 5-0.
Hensley kept hit shutout going in the fourth inning and started the fifth inning off with a strikeout and a pop out, bringing Hughes Springs to their final out. With their backs against the wall, the Hughes Springs junior varsity hit back-to-back doubles, breaking up the shutout.
Hensley put an end to the rally quickly, however, getting a fly out on the next batter to end the game. Though he didn’t walk away with the shutout, Hensley had a great outing, going all five innings allowing just one run.
He also tied for a team-high in RBI with Ethan George, as they both drove in a pair of runs. Sly also had one RBI in the game.
After splitting their pair of games Miller Grove’s record is now 7-1. They will stay busy over spring break, with another pair of games Thursday against Santo. Coverage of the games will be provided on Front Porch News.
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