Huntland's Evan Keller connects on a pitch in this file photo from earlier in the season. Keller had four hits and two RBIs for the Hornets Wednesday in their 4-2 win at Moore County High School.
Huntland's Evan Keller connects on a pitch in this file photo from earlier in the season. Keller had four hits and two RBIs for the Hornets Wednesday in their 4-2 win at Moore County High School.
The Huntland High School Hornets beat the Moore County Raiders 4-2 on the road Wednesday for their sixth win of the season.
The Hornets took a decent early lead in the contest and maintained it for the rest of the day as they secured a season sweep over the rival Raiders.
The Hornets had their first three batters in the top of the second reach base as Matthew Dickson and Caleb Maxwell both singled and Daltyn Howell got hit by a pitch.
All three of those runners came around to score in the frame as Blaine Counts hit an RBI single and Evan Keller followed with a two-run single to make it a 3-0 game early.
The Raiders got their first run of the day in the bottom of the third on a two-out RBI single, but Huntland pitcher Maxwell was able to force a popout to strand runners at first and second to end the inning.
The Hornets then got that run back in the top of the fourth as Landon Kerr hit an RBI single to score Keller from third base and put the overall score at 4-1.
Three consecutive walks loaded the bases for the Raiders with no outs in the bottom of the fourth, but the next two batters struck out against reliever Counts, and a groundout then got Huntland out of the inning without any of the initial runners scoring.
The Raiders also loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth before an inning-ending groundout once again got the Hornets out of the jam with their lead preserved.
A one-out RBI double from the Raiders in the bottom of the seventh gave them their second run of the contest and put runners at second and third as threats to tie the game.
However, the next two batters were retired on a strikeout and a fly out, respectively, as the Hornets held on to win by two.
Maxwell pitched the first three innings for the Hornets with three strikeouts, five hits, three walks and one run allowed.
Counts pitched the remaining four innings in relief with four strikeouts, three hits, five walks and one run allowed.
With the win, the Hornets improved to 6-5 on the season and 2-0 in district play.
They will next play Thursday at home against Cornersville High School. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
