Tuesday, June 11, 2013 9:00 am

By BOBBY WHITT/ Contributor
Woodbury Post 279 was put to the test once again in its second tournament of summer competition last weekend during the King of the Mountain Summer Invitational.

The Post 279 Lions went 1-2-1 in their weekend pool. They beat Sequatchie County, 10-4, tied Franklin County, 2-2, and lost to Grundy County, 14-0, and the All-Star Aces, 9-0.

“We were up and down throughout the four games and the result of the games would indicate that,” Post 279 manager Tony Stinnett said. “We continued to have bright spots and we made improvements in areas and that’s the overwhelming purpose of our summer.”

Jared Judkins continued to have a good start to the summer. He was 2-for-3 with a walk in the Franklin County game. Jake Todd added a double, and Graden Strang and Sam Schau also had hits for the Lions.

Strang also enjoyed a dominant performance on the mound. Strang pitched all eight innings of the 2-2 tie. He struck out eight, allowed two hits and retired the last 11 he faced in succession.

The Lions trailed Franklin County, 2-0, going to the fifth but Schau singled, stole second and scored on Judkins’ RBI single. Jake Todd doubled and scored on Strang’s hit in the sixth to tie the game. Judkins almost won it in the bottom of the seventh. He delivered a two -out hit to left but the potential winning run was thrown out at the plate.

The Lions did not play well in the second game Friday, falling to host Grundy County. It was 3-0 into the middle innings when home team broke it open.

Tucker Francis provided exceptional pitching and the Lions’ bats came alive in a 10-4 win against Sequatchie County. Francis pitched four innings of two-hit shutout baseball before Sequatchie finally got on the board late.

Judkins and Todd were table setters at the top of the order. They were on base in eight-of-10 trips, and Strang reached three times in the three hole. Todd was 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored. Judkins was 2-for-5 with a run scored. Strang, Nathan McGuire, Jackson Mason, Francis and Austin Martin all had hits for the Lions.

Woodbury Post 279 dropped its final game to the All-Star Aces travel team. Judkins did keep his hot streak alive with a double. Mason and Martin also had base hits for the Lions.

Woodbury Post 279 will play in the Sparta Summer Invitational this weekend.