Hartselle finishes 3-2 in Mississippi tourney

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
JACKSON, Miss. - Hartselle’s bats came alive in the Mid-Mississippi Classic at three different sites around the Jackson area.
Hartselle scored 43 runs in the tournament after struggling with a long list of new players this spring. The defending Class 5A state champions won three of five games in the tournament to improve to 4-11 overall.
Jackson Reeves and John Roberts had Hartselle’s only two hits in a tournament-opening 8-2 loss to Northwest Rankin, one of the premier baseball programs in Mississippi.
Reeves singled in the second inning and scored on a Northwest Rankin error.
The Tigers’ last run came in the fourth inning when Logan Cain reached on an error and scored when Will Swann’s grounder to second was misplayed.
Tres Austin took the loss for Hartselle after allowing nine hits in six innings. Seven of the eight runs were earned.
Hartselle 9, Desoto 4
Ethan Howell struck out five in four innings to earn the win against Desoto.
Howell allowed just two runs before being relieved by Ryland Blankenship in the fifth inning.
Logan Cain, who finished with three hits in the win, hit a 2-run homer in the fifth to give Hartselle a solid 6-2 margin.
Jackson Reeves had two hits and scored two runs for the Tigers. Zach Letson, John Roberts and Hayden Dye added one hit each.
Desoto scored twice in the fourth inning and twice more in the seventh before Blankenship got the final out on a fielder’s choice.
Madison Central 9, Hartselle 0
Zach Letson, Ryan Joy, John Roberts and Logan Cain finished with one single each in the loss to Madison Central.
Hunter McCaghren suffered the loss after allowing six hits and six runs in 2.1 innings of work. Only three of the runs were earned.
Hayden McCaghren closed out the game in relief.
Hartselle 16, Oak Grove 4
Ryan Joy singled twice and drove in three runs, while John Roberts finished with three hits and two RBIs as Hartselle exploded with a 12-hit attack against Oak Grove.
Zach Letson and Andrew Hampton added two singles each in the win. Also picking up hits for the Tigers were Drew Cowan, Logan Cain and Jackson Reeves.
Jackson Smith earned the win after scatttering four hits over four innings of work. He allowed three earned runs.
Deacon Aldridge added two innings of relief work for Hartselle. He allowed just one hit in two innings.
Hartselle 16, Pearl 2
Aaron Wooley threw three shutout innings to pick up the win in the final game of the Mississippi trip.
Ty Murphy pitched the final two innings for Hartselle.
Pearl’s two runs were unearned.
Drew Cowan led the Tigers’ offense with three hits and five RBIs. He homered in the first inning and added a double and a single.
Logan Cain, John Roberts and Ryan Joy also added homers for Hartselle.
Matt Johnston had two hits and a pair of RBIs, while Zach Letson added a double.
Pearl had just 10 baserunners in the game with four coming as a result of Hartselle errors.