Cannon spring squads grab success



Cannon spring squads grab success | Spring sports, baseball, soccer, softball

DAVID HUNTER photo Cannon County seniors were recently honored before the game with their parents. Left to right: Jackson Mason with parents, Conswayla and Thomas Mason; Nick Vassar with parents, Mike Vassar and Garia Ciramella and Jake Todd with parents

By DAVID HUNTER, Cannon Courier

The Cannon County High School spring teams enjoyed some much needed success during the past couple of weeks of action. Each of the four squads got some key wins inside District 8AA, which helped improved their seeding for the upcoming postseason. This week, the CCHS senior class is on their annual senior trip, so each of the teams are either off or they will be without their services.

Baseball
Upperman 19, Cannon County 1 (April 6)
Upperman 10, Cannon County 0 (April 7)

It was a tough two-game district series as the Lions were outscored 29-1 over it. CCHS only had two hits and one run in the first game by Jared Judkins, Preston Campbell and Bailey Hale. The second game was no different has Sam Schau had the only hit in the shutout loss by the Lions.

Mountain Valley Classic
Cannon County 5, Bledsoe County 4 (April 9)
Marion County 8, Cannon County 0 (April 9)
Grundy County 7, Cannon County 0 (April 11)
Cannon County 11, Whitwell 7 (April 11)

This event was successful for the Lions as they got back in the winning column by going 2-2, especially when they scored as their two losses were by shutouts. Against Bledsoe County, Judkins and Jackson Mason each went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Jake Todd had a double, scored a run, and he had a RBI. Austin Martin, Schau and Mason also had a RBI apiece.
The second win of the weekend came against Whitwell which included a six-run second inning by the Lions. Martin, Judkins, Schau and Campbell each connected on a double, and Nick Vassar drove in three runs. Judkins, Tucker Francis and Campbell also had a RBI.

Cannon County 4, Livingston Academy 2 (April 13)
Cannon County 5, Livingston Academy 4 (April 16)
The Lions winning streak extended to three after a huge district sweep of the Wildcats in thrilling fashion. In the first game of the series, Todd continued his hot streak by going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs in the win.
The second game was special as it was senior night for seniors Mason, Todd and Vassar, and they were honored with a ceremony before the game. Todd scored the winning run in the bottom of fifth off a double by Briar Jakes.
"It was great, because I was at second," Todd said. "As I was rounding the bag, the coach was like you got to score, so I kept going. I got to score to win this game."
Todd finished 2-for-3 scoring two runs, hit a double and had a RBI. Mason was 1-for-2 and he also scored two runs, Vassar also added a run scored in the win. Jakes went 3-for-3 including two RBIs, including the game winning one.

Walking Horse Classic
Cascade 2, Cannon County 0 (April 17)
Huntland 8, Cannon County 1 (April 17)
MTCS 9, Cannon County 4 (April 18)
The Lions lost three games in two days during the event, which was the final non-district games of the season. CCHS has another two-game district series this week against Macon County with game one yesterday at CCHS, and game two tonight at Macon County with first pitch at 5 p.m.

Softball
The wet weather has played havoc with all of the CCHS spring sports schedules during the past few weeks, especially the softball squad. The Lionettes have had several postponements or cancellations, especially key district games. However, during the past two weeks, CCHS has gotten in three games, including two wins.

Cannon County 5, Cascade 3 (April 8)
CCHS got a huge non-district win over Cascade after having the two previous games either postponed or cancelled because of weather. Ally Parton led the way going 3-for-4 and scoring a run. Molly Williams and Shelby Earls went 2-for-3, and both of them scored a run, added a RBI and connected on a double. Kristen Hale had two RBIs, and Kallie McCrary added an RBI also in the win.

Cannon County 5, Smith County 3 (April 9)

Different day, same result, more important win since it was in the district. The Lionettes got a two-run inside-the-park home run by Williams, which also scored Bailey Sims during the bottom of the third. It turned out to be the difference.
"I heard from my first base coach, I could probably get four," Williams said. "So, I went for it and started to run fast. It had been awhile, but it felt pretty good."
Smith County had a furious comeback with three runs in the top of the sixth to close the gap, but Hale and the CCHS defense shut down the threat with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh to hold on for the win.
"They started to rally, and I knew we had to step up," Hale said. "We made big plays when it mattered."
Williams went for 2-for-2 with two RBIs, and two runs scored. Kelsie Smith was 3-for-3 and she also scored a run. Hale, Kallie McCrary and Shelby Earls each connected on a double, and Kendra Maynard added a triple in the win.
Macon County 14, Cannon County 10 (9) (April 17)
In a back and fourth game, which ended in extra innings, the Lionettes fell in heartbreaking fashion. The game was tied at 4 after regulation, but the bats came to life during the extra frames for both teams. Each team scored four runs in the eighth inning to even the score at eight.
However, Macon exploded with six runs in the top of the ninth, and CCHS was only able to answer with two in the bottom half of the inning as Macon held on for the win.
Hale went 6-for-6 with 6 RBIs, including three doubles in a losing effort. Livia Walker added three runs, and a double. Smith, Maynard, and Earls also connected with a double. Williams had two RBIs, while K. McCrary and Maynard also had a RBI. Joie McCrary scored three times, and Maynard added a couple of more runs. Sims and Smith also scored for CCHS.
CCHS travels to Huntland for a non-district doubleheader on April 22 beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Tennis
Cannon County girls 9, Livingston Academy 0; Livingston Academy 6, Cannon County boys 1 (April 9)
Murfreesboro Central Magnet girls 6, Cannon County 1; MCMS boys 7, CCHS 0 (April 16)

Two of the matches for the tennis teams were cancelled, but the Lionettes continued their winning ways with a dominate shutout win over Livingston. Each of the female players, Sarah and Katie Hickman, Kristen McReynolds, Autumn King, Leah Hyatt and Ashley Barnes won both their singles and doubles matches. Ty Bratcher picked up the only win for the boys against Livingston.
The second match of the time period did not end well for both squads against state power MCMS. McReynolds was the only match winner for both teams against the Tigers. She defeated her opponent in a thrilling tie-breaker 9-8 (7-2).
The regular season is now over for both teams as they get ready for the District 8AA team tournament at Tennessee Tech beginning on April 27.

Boys Soccer
The Lions two matches this week against Jackson County and at Watertown were postponed until a later date, but during the previous week they went 1-2.
Merrol Hyde 6, Cannon County 1 (April 7)
Macon County 8, Cannon County 0 (April 9)
Cannon County 1, Marshall County 0 (April 11)

After two tough blowout losses, the Lions bounced back with a huge confidence win over Marshall County even without some of their top players, because of the previous night's prom. The two goalkeepers were out, so Billy Motlow got the clean sheet in relief, including nine saves.
Four other starters were also out along with three reserves. The only goal came from the McReynolds twins as Garrett found Marshall as he put it in the back of the net for the game winner.

The only match for the Lions this week is tonight against Forrest at home inside the football stadium starting at 6 p.m.