Pioneers tame Lions on diamond

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Warren County first baseman Dylan Stephens runs down a Cannon County baserunner after a pickoff move from Pioneer pitcher Todd Gilley caught him off guard during Saturday’s scrimmage.

The Pioneer baseball team played host to Cannon County for a lengthy scrimmage Saturday afternoon, dominating the Lions throughout the 13-inning affair.

After out-scoring the Lions 6-2 through the first seven innings, both squads shuffled their lineups, with Warren County fielding a group composed largely of freshman players. The youngsters got the job done, however, blasting their counterparts from Woodbury 9-1.

Todd Gilley, Colby Killian and Derrin Rogers took the mound during the first half of Saturday’s action, combining to allow just one earned run, a second-inning homer which came at Gilley’s expense. The senior worked two innings, giving up four hits and balancing two strikeouts against two walks.

Killian came on in the third, fanning four batters and allowing just one hit and an unearned run through three innings of work, and was relieved by Rogers, who pitched two perfect frames, striking out the final four batters he faced.

At the plate, the Pioneers tied the game in the bottom of the second, when Gilley singled home Killian, who had doubled. Tyler Herriman singled and scored in the third, and Dylan Stephens and Gilley scored in the fourth to put WCHS on top for good. In the seventh, WCHS put up to more hits, scoring their final two runs.

The second half of Saturday’s scrimmage saw the Pioneers connect for 11 hits through just five innings. Josh Moore drove in the team’s first run with a single in the first, and Chase Officer plated two more runners with a line drive to right in the second. Casey Talbert connected for a third-inning RBI single, and Clint Newman added a two-run double to put WCHS on top 6-0.

Cannon County took advantage of back-to-back walks to score its lone run in the fourth, but the Pioneers responded with three more in the bottom of the frame, courtesy of RBIs from Josh Moore, Casey Talbert and Lane McCoy.

Todd Dunn and Officer drew back-to-back walks to start the fifth, and came in on a two-run single from Darrid Wells, who later scored on a Chase Basham hit.

On the hill, Coty Grissom got things started, working two no-hit innings while fanning four batters, and Josh Mullins fanned two while walking two and allowing Cannon County’s only hit during the second half of the scrimmage.

Wells came on in the top of the fifth, pitching two perfect innings and fanning five of the six batters he faced.

The Pioneers return to action Wednesday, with a 3:30 home scrimmage against DeKalb County. They’ll take part in the Tullahoma Scrimmage Weekend this Saturday, with two games at Coffee County High School.