Baseball salvages a split with Blaze: Killian strikes out 13 in 3-0 win

By ROB NUNLEY Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Justin Bouldin?s attempt at a bunt goes foul during Tuesday night?s game against Blackman. Bouldin later laid down a sacrifice, advancing Clint Newman, who later scored the team?s second run.

Colby Killian pitched his third straight shutout, and the Pioneers salvaged a District 7-AAA split with a 3-0 victory over Blackman Tuesday night at Ramsey Field.

For the second week in a row, Killian fanned 13 batters on his way to the win, striking out eight memebers of Blackman?s lineup at least once. The senior right-hander allowed just three hits and didn?t issue a walk.

With the victory, Warren County improved to 14-12 overall and 3-5 in District 7-AAA play. The Blaze fell to 15-9 on the year, while their league mark dropped to 4-4.

After stranding three runners through the first two innings, the Pioneers finally broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third.

Jordan Powers led off the inning by drawing a base-on-balls, and stole second base, putting him in position to score when Colby Killian?s fly ball to center was misplayed by Blackman?s Micah Dana.

Clint Newman, who was the only player in Tuesday?s game to finish with multiple hits, singled to right to start the fourth inning, and after being sacrificed to second by a Justin Bouldin bunt, came around to score when Coty Grissom belted a liner to right that tailed away from Blackman?s Kirkland Wheeler and went for an RBI triple.

Grissom scored from third when Nick Cantrell lined a single to center, giving the Pioneers the 3-0 lead that would prove to be the game?s final score.

Although the Pioneers had ust two runners reach base during their final three innings (via a walk and an error, respectively), the three-run lead was more than enough for Killian, who allowed just one hit over the final four frames. Two other Blackman batters reached on two-out throwing errors, but were left stranded at first in both the fifth and seventh innings.

Robby Cooper, Kevin Prater and Frankie Beech had a single apiece for Blackman?s only hits, while Prater ? who singled, grounded to first on a diving stop by Newman and reached on an error ? was the only Blaze player who didn?t strike out at least once.

Newman finished 2-for-3 for the Pioneers, reaching base three times and scoring a run, while Grissom and Cantrell both had RBIs. Jordan Underhill and Killian also had a hit apiece.

The Pioneers are scheduled to play host to Oakland tonight, for the first game of a two-day district series. Game time is set for 6:30. Saturday, the two teams will meet in Murfreesboro to wrap the series, with that contest also slated for a 6:30 p.m. start.