Phillips’ Power, Fagan’s Pitching Key Lions’ Win

Trent Fagan supplied the pitching and Cody Phillips provided the power as Cannon County's baseball team turned back District 8-AA foe Upperman, 3-1, Tuesday (April 12) at Woodbury City Park.

Fagan turned in one of his best performances of the season - a two-hit masterpiece that featured seven strikeouts and no walks. The only run allowed was unearned.

Not only did Phillips, Fagan's catcher, called a superb game, but he also provided the critical blow that enabled the Lions (4-8-1, 3-4) to sting the Bees (7-4, 6-1) with their first district setback.

"We played very well start to finish," Cannon County Head Coach Eddie Cunningham said. "It was a big win for our team against one of the top teams in the district, but we have been playing better the past couple of weeks and when you play well you should expect good things to happen. (Fagan) was just outstanding on the mound and we had some timely hits, but Phillips had the big one."

Phillips' only hit was the game-winner.

The score was deadlocked into the third inning when Colin Jones, Austin Brown and Fagan delivered consecutive one-out singles to load the bases for Phillips in the clean-up spot.

Phillips followed with a bases-clearing triple to stake the Lions to a 3-0 lead and provide Fagan all the run support he would need.

"That was the big inning and all of our players did a good job of getting ahead in the count and looking for their pitch," Cunningham said. "They put together four straight hits against a good pitcher and then we found a way to win against a good team."

Fagan pitched four innings of no-hit baseball before surrendering a leadoff single in the fifth. Upperman benefited from an error in the inning to score its only run.

Fagan was the only Lion with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3, while Jones, Brown and Phillips each had one hit.

Upperman 8, CCHS 1

The second game of the District 8-AA series went to Upperman as the Bees struck for three runs in the third and tacked on four in the fourth to take control.

Cody Lorance led the Lions with a 2-for-3 effort and Dustin Mears was 1-for-2. Lorance and Mears accounted for Cannon County's only two hits.

The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the first when Colin Jones reached and eventually scored on an error. The lead held until the third when the Bees finally broke loose at the plate.

Grundy Co. 16, CCHS 8

The late innings were once again tough on the Lions in a 16-8 setback to Grundy County. The game was tied 3-3 going to the fourth, but Grundy County scored seven runs on 10 hits and before the dust had settled the Lions found themselves in a 10-3 hole.

"We had the one bad inning and we had a chance to get out of it but we just didn't make the play," Cunningham said. "That happens in baseball but what is disappointing is that we didn't find a way to stop the inning before it reached a seven-run situation."

Austin Brown led the Lions with a 4-for-4 effort to raise his team-leading batting average to .469. Colin Jones was 2-for-3 with a triple and four runs scored. Jones and Brown, batting first and second in the order, were a combined 6-for-7 with a triple and six runs scored.

Trent Fagan was 1-for-2 with a double and four RBI.

Cannon County (4-10-1, 3-5) returns to action when it plays host to Livingston Academy in a key District 8-AA game at Woodbury City Park Monday (April 18).