Lions Start Strong In Summer Baseball

Courier Sports Report


Lions Start Strong In Summer Baseball

Graden Strang delivers a pitch during summer league baseball action. Strang and the Lions Baseball 16-under team is off to a 4-0 start.
Cannon County’s 16-under baseball team is off to a 4-0 start in its summer schedule.

The Lions opened with two wins in the Murfreesboro Baseball Association (MBA) Premier League and capped the week with a doubleheader sweep against the Murfreesboro Dodgers Saturday.

Rising freshman Graden Strang’s grand slam led the Lions to a 10-3 win against Central Magnet Tigers in the first league game.

Cannon County trailed 3-0 after the first inning; however, Peyton Rudisill singled and scored on Trent Bragg’s two-out single to pull to within 3-1.

The Lions took the lead for good in the second when Strang delivered the clutch two-out home run to plate four runs.

Strang, Rudisill, Jared Judkins, Bragg and Tucker Francis all had key hits in the win. Francis (1-0) notched the win.

Cannon County improved to 2-0 in the MBA Premier League with a 7-2 win against Rockvale. Jake Todd was 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and a RBI to lead the way. Bragg, Strang, Jackson Mason, Nathan McGuire, Austin Martin, Daniel Davis and Bailey Hale all had hits.

The Lions stepped out of league play over the weekend and scrimmaged the Murfreesboro Dodgers, a 16-under team from the Optimist League. The Lions won a pitcher’s duel in the opener with Chase Gunter earning the win in a 2-1 victory. Gunter pitched a one-hitter and struck out seven.

The Lions went on top 1-0 in the first when Judkins reached and scored on Francis’ two-out triple. Francis, who was 2-for-2 with a triple, also scored the winning run. He led off the fourth with a single and scored on Todd’s bases-loaded walk.

The nightcap was not as suspenseful as the Lions secured a 17-1 triumph. Austin Martin and Daniel Davis had two hits each. Davis was 2-for-2 with a double and four RBI. McGuire, Hale, Todd, Francis, and Judkins all had run-producing hits in the win.

The Lions will play one league game this week before being tested in the high school division of the White County tournament.