The Ethel Tiger Baseball team has gotten off to its best start ever by sweeping four games this past week to push its record to 6-0. Solid pitching and defense had been the backbone of the team, but now maturity has brought some timely hitting.
The Tigers traveled to Noxapater to start of the week and came away with a 9-3 victory. Hayes Wood got the start and pitched four strong, striking out six hitters. Blake McKinley and John Morgan Cummins came in and cleaned it up on a wet night to secure the win for the Tigers. Cody Weeks, Hayden Beall and Cummins all had RBI hits as the Tigers rolled.
On Friday night Central Holmes came to Ethel as the Tigers made short work of the Trojans, coming away with a 14-4 win. Tyson Steen got the start for the Tigers and pitched four strong innings, striking out four. Cummins and Daniel McBride led the way for the Tigers on offense with both collecting two hits each. Wood, McKinley, Steen, Chase Walters and Weeks all had singles in the contest.
On Saturday the Tigers traveled to Lexington to take on Central Holmes once again and came away with a 9-4 victory over the homestanding Trojans. McKinley got the start for the Tigers and pitched five strong innings, striking out nine Trojans and no earned runs. Cummins entered the game in relief and retired the final five outs with some solid defense behind him. McKinley led the Tigers with three hits followed by Wood and Cummins with two hits apiece. Walters, McBride, Weeks and Steen all had singles in the win as well. “We are finding ways to finish games this year,” said Ethel head coach Chris Schuster. “We have grown up a little and found different ways to get the job done. I’m proud of the way they have picked each other up and put the team in front of themselves.”
After the win over the Trojans, the Tigers packed up and hit the road to Carrollton to take on J.Z. George in a nightcap, winning the contest 14-1. Walters got the start and win after striking out 10 batters in four innings. McBride came on in the final inning and struck out the side. The Tigers played West Lowndes on Tuesday night and will play Newton on Thursday in Meridian and then will play Choctaw Central and Union on Saturday in Meridian with all times TBA. The Tigers will travel to Orange Beach during Spring Break for a tournament where they will play four teams from Alabama on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. “The tournament committee really gave us a test with the quality of teams down there,” added Schuster. “It will be a great way to get better and surprise a few people. This is exactly what we need going into a region championship run.”
