The DeKalb County High School Tigers baseball team had their season come to an end last week after fighting through the TSSAA Regional Tournament. The team started their part of the tournament with a big win, then had to face an old foe.
On May 12, the Tigers traveled to the Chattanooga area where they took on Signal Mountain in a game that would give high hopes to DCHS fans.
The game looked to be a battle in the first inning, with each team coming away with two runs. Then, the Tigers began to pull away, adding a run in the second inning and another in the third. The game went on to the fifth, when DeKalb sealed the deal, scoring eight more runs and taking the impressive 12-2 win.
DeKalb had 12 runs on 11 hits, with one error, while Signal Mountain had two runs on four hits, and two errors. John Roller was the winning pitcher, going the distance with four strikeouts and no walks.
On offense, Steven Jennings was 3-4 with two RBIs, while Devin Summers was 2-3 with two RBIs. Luke Boss went 1-3 with two RBIs, Sam McMillen was 2-4 with one RBI, Steven Page was 1-3 with one RBI, John Roller was 1-1, and Ty Curtis was 1-2 with two RBIs.
With the win, the Tigers next game would take them to familiar territory, to Murfreesboro to face off with the Tigers of Central Magnet. The DeKalb Tigers had seen Central Magnet the week before, losing the district championship to the team in a close game. History would repeat, with running errors and sluggish batting killing scoring opportunities.
Again, the game would be close between the Tiger teams, but just getting the game started seamed to be a struggle. The game was scheduled for May 14, but was postponed due to rain for the following day. That game was then postponed until May 16 due to poor field conditions. Rain threatened the game that Friday, with intermittent sprinkles, but the game finally was underway.
The game saw goose eggs for the first two innings, then CM came in with a run in the third. DeKalb put runners on base, but an easy single, with a man on third, turned into an out as a DeKalb runner attempted to push for a double.
CM added another run in the sixth inning, and DeKalb looked to tie or even pull ahead in the seventh, loading the bases. It was not to be. DeKalb fell, 2-0.
DeKalb had five hits in the game. Jennings, Boss, Page, and Roller were each 1-3, while Aaron Patterson was 1-4. Page was the losing pitcher, with four strikeouts, and allowing two runs on five hits.
"We ran the bases poorly and actually had a chance to win the game," Head Coach Tracy Slone told the Review. "We had runners on, but couldn’t get the big hit and had base running mistakes. If you do that against a good team that is well coached, you’re not going to win."
The loss kept the Tigers from playing their next game at home, against Hixson High School. Instead, the team would have to travel to Madisonville, near Sweetwater, to take on Sequoyah High School.
Sequoyah took control of the game early, scoring two runs in the first inning. The Tigers got on the board with their one and only run of the game in the third, but Sequoyah matched the run with one of their own. Sequoyah another run on the fourth, two in the fifth, and one more in the sixth to take the win, 7-1.
Jennings was the losing pitcher, going four innings with five strikeouts and allowing five hits. Summers came in to close out the fifth inning, then Roller came in the sixth to finish the game.
McMillen went 2-3 in the game, while Patterson was 2-3 with an RBI. Sequoyah had seven runs on nine hits, and zero errors, while DeKalb had one run, four hits, and six errors.
"We ran into a very good team in the sub-state game, and we didn’t play very well," Coach Slone said. "That was probably one of the worst defensive games we’ve played all year. When you get to that level, in the sub-state game and make six errors, you’re not going to win."
When asked about the Tigers’ season this year, Coach Slone said he was proud of his team. "I think we did better than anyone expected this season. We got one game away from the state tournament. We were a young team, with only two seniors, I’m proud of them."
"We’re just going to keep working and hopefully we’ll get back to where we were this year and take it a step further."