Commerce Grabs First Win Of The Season
Tigers To Face Athens Christian Thurs.
By Brandon Reed
Last week had its ups and downs for the Commerce Tigers. The good news was that the team finally picked up its first win in a blowout over Tallulah Falls.
The down came in the next game against Social Circle, when the Tigers were handed their fourth loss of the young season.
Commerce will be looking to get back on the beam on Thursday, as they’ll travel to Athens Christian for a 5:30 p.m. game.
Tallulah Falls
To say Commerce got off on the right foot last Tuesday against Tallulah Falls would be an understatement.
The Tigers put 10 runs across the plate in the bottom of the first inning, then picked up two more runs in the third while holding the Indians scoreless into the fourth, when Tallulah Falls finally scored two runs. The game ended halfway through the fifth inning, with Commerce wrapping up the 12-2 win.
Cohen Cooke went 1-for-2, scoring two runs against the Indians. Reuben Haynes went 1-for-1, T. Green 2-for-3, Ward Hunter 1-for-1, Carl Allen 1-for-2, Chase Barnett 1-for-2, and Ethan Thomas went 1-for-3.
Cohen Cooke picked up the win on the mound, giving up just one hit and striking out three.
Social Circle
The Tigers had hoped their good fortune would carry over to their next game, as they played host to Social Circle on Thursday.
Early on, itt seemed like it might work out that way, as Commerce went up 5-1 in the first inning. But Social Circle came thundering back with a six-run third inning, while Commerce only answered with one run. A three-run fourth inning by each team kept things close, but Social Circle moved further ahead with two runs in the fifth. The Tigers were able to put one more run on the board in the sixth inning, but could close no further, as Social Circle went on to win 12-10.
Jake Flint and Green both went 2-for-4 in the game, while Josh Streetman went 2-for-3. Cooke, Haynes, Ward Hunter, Carl Allen and Chase Barnett all hit safely.
Haynes recorded the loss, giving up seven runs in three innings, while striking out five.
The loss leaves Commerce with a 1-4 record, 1-1 in region play.
Getting Serious
“Our effort and execution couldn’t have been more contrasting than they were during the two games last week,” said coach Walt Massey. “Against Tallulah Falls, we showed a great deal of alertness, focusing on the task at hand, and put them away before they could mount a serious challenge. Against, Social Circle, we got ahead early, but lost all semblance of a competitive edge and lost a 12-10 game that we could have won. We played with no passion and had mental breakdowns that cost us the game.”
Massey says his team is young, but won’t get much mileage out of that excuse.
“No other team is going to take it easy on us because we are inexperienced, and if we continue to feel sorry for ourselves and use that excuse, we could find ourselves in a very humbling position,” he said. “We’ve got to grow up really quickly and decide to compete hard the entire time.
“We need better leadership from our older guys, and we need our younger guys to realize that in this fight they are expected to punch back.”
Massey says his team can still win its share of games this season.
“I still like our chances of winning a lot of baseball games, but we’ve got to get serious about doing that in a hurry,” he said.
Coming Up
The Tigers were scheduled to travel to Athens Academy Tuesday evening for a 6 p.m. ball game. Results of that game were unavailable at press time.
The Tigers travel to Athens Christian for a 5:30 p.m. game on Thursday. The Eagles entered competition Tuesday with a 3-2 record, 1-1 in the region.
