MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - A touch of tension and a blistering fastball were more than Signal Mountain could handle in its initial foray into Spring Fling baseball.
The Eagles committed four errors and were close to being hypnotized by Christian Academy of Knoxville pitcher Spencer Strider, who allowed just two hits and struck out six in four innings of work in a 10-2 Class A/AA win. CAK is 36-5.
"We didn't come ready to play. We were a little nervous at first," said Signal Mountain standout Collin Farr. "A lot of us were just excited to be here. We saw Strider on the mound, and some of us got a little more nervous."
Strider's fastball reportedly had been clocked at 97 mph in the seventh inning of a game last week, but he mostly was throwing in the high 80s and touching as high as 92 on occasion Tuesday.
By the time the Eagles (29-10) finally touched him for a run in the bottom of the fourth, they were staring at a six-run deficit, and baserunners were at a premium - they left only four for the entire game.
Much of the credit goes to Strider, but reliever Lucas Sykes also allowed just one earned run in his three innings. Strider threw 66 pitches, Sykes 44.
Signal Mountain's runs came on an RBI single from Seth Wicker in the fourth and Garland Woods scoring on a balk in the sixth.
"There were just too many mistakes, and CAK took advantage every time we made one," Signal coach Josh Gandy said.
He and assistant Bumper Reese were somewhat surprised by the tension in their dugout.
"Surprised? Somewhat. But this is the first time on the big stage. Hopefully we'll put it together tomorrow and stick around a while," Gandy added.
Signal Mountain will return to Blackman High this morning to play the Spring Hill-Lexington loser. That game is to start at 11 EDT. If the Eagles win, they'll play again at 6 this evening.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him on Twitter @wardgossett.