Hunter Davis and his Signal Mountain teammates are quickly making up the time they missed when the 2020 baseball season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
His powerful bat came through again Friday, helping lead a chilly 13-5 home victory over Lookout Valley. The senior standout laced a pair of RBI singles, one to left-center field and one down the third-base line, and now has driven in seven runs to help the Eagles to a 3-0 start.
“Hunter is one of those guys that has really grinded over the past four years to become the best possible player he can be,” Signal Mountain coach Josh Gandy said. “His hard work is paying off. You can see it. He has swung the bat really well this week and is a big part of what I think can be a dangerous lineup.”
Signal Mountain has eight seniors and is expected to have a formidable punch in the middle of the lineup provided by Preston Worley, Sam Witherspoon, Braeden Wolfard, Carson Johnson and Davis. Those upperclassmen are also expected to be solid on the mound. Davis was sharp earlier this week with nine strikeouts in three innings in a runaway win over East Ridge.
The Eagles adjusted after the first time through the order Friday. Freshman Ben Timblin sent the ball up the middle in the second inning to drive in two runs and break 1-all tie, and he finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
Carson Johnson was the winning pitcher and had an RBI single to build a 9-3 lead in the fourth. Braeden Wolfard struck out five in 2 1/3 innings, and James Webb and Worley shut the door in relief.
Lookout Valley’s Jacob Rollins drove in a pair of runs, and Jacob Winchester had two hits.
Ooltewah 11, Greater Gwinnett 7: Junior first baseman Isaac Hughes hit a grand slam, Bryson Smith scored three runs and drove in two and Andrew Zettel had three RBIs for the Owls. Fisher Perry and Nick Sullivan doubled and had two hits each for the winners, who scored five runs in the third and four in the sixth.
Hixson 11, Mt. Juliet Christian 1: Jacob Tobias went 2-for-3 with a triple and four RBIs in a five-inning win for Hixson in its Wildcat Classic. Anthony Wild stole two bases and scored twice, and Kane Johnson had two hits and scored three runs. Winning pitcher Bradley Dossett allowed one hit and zero earned runs with five strikeouts in four innings.
Baylor 6, Rabun Gap 4: Vito Valinicus hit his fourth home run of the season and drove in three runs, and Danny Corona went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Red Raiders. Luke Courdin got the win on the mound, and Chris Campanella earned the save by pitching two innings.
McCallie 5, Soddy-Daisy 4: The Blue Tornado climbed back from a 4-0 deficit and took the lead for good when Gray Glover drove in two with a single on an 0-2 count in the bottom of the sixth. Carter Hewitt went 2-for-3 for McCallie and homered in the fifth. Dylan Caldwell went 2-for-4 for the Trojans, who scored three runs in the third.
South Pittsburg 19, Red Bank 3; South Pittsburg 10, Boyd Buchanan 0: Senior first baseman Ryan Cagle drove in six runs in each game for the winning Pirates, homering against Red Bank, and he allowed one hit in four scoreless innings and struck out five Boyd Buchanan batters.
Calhoun 3-1, Cartersville 0-6: Bryse Ingle pitched a one-hit, nine-strikeout shutout of state power Cartersville. Calhoun (6-6, 2-4 GHSA Region 7-AAAAA) got two doubles and two runs from Dante Morton, with Parker Lewis getting two hits and an RBI and Andon Lewis two RBIs. Cartersville received two RBIs each from Blake Sutton and Paul Gamble to earn the split. Calhoun’s Lewis had three of the team’s four hits in a losing effort.
Ringgold 10, Murray County 0: Colin Mountjoy allowed two hits and struck out five without a walk in the five-inning game. Sam Mills had a pair of doubles and drove in two runs, with Kenyon Ransom going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, McCain Mangum had two hits with an RBI and Dre Morris knocked in two runs for the Tigers (7-5, 2-0 Region 6-AAA).
Sonoraville 7, LaFayette 0: Jax Lockaby pitched a three-hitter with seven strikeouts for the Phoenix (6-5, 1-1 in Region 6-AAA). Jaxon Pate was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, with Kannon England adding two hits and scoring twice, Trevor Childers finishing with two hits and Tanner Folds two RBIs.
Rome 2, Dalton 0: Rome’s Braxton Wade won a pitching duel against Dalton’s Brady Pendley with a two-hitter. Pendley allowed two hits in six innings and did not allow an earned run while striking out 10.
Southeast Whitfield 5-2, Ridgeland 3-5: Aiden Paymer and Chris Maddeaux combined on a three-hitter to earn the split in game two for the Panthers, with Maddeaux getting two hits and an RBI. Brady Ensley was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Bryse Lofton had a solo homer for Southeast in game one, with Hudson Couch going 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Ridgeland.
Trion 5-2, Mount Zion-Carroll 4-4: The Bulldogs won the Region 6-A public series as Riley Blackwell scored on a balk in the bottom of the seventh in game one. Brandon Dover had two hits and two RBIs, with Dawson Brown and Brody Brown adding RBIs. Jackson Morrison and Brantley Willbanks had two hits each in game two for Trion, which had the tying runs in scoring position in the seventh inning before the rally ended.
BOYS’ SOCCER
Baylor 4, Bearden 2: Four players scored for the Red Raiders, and Ethan Nunes had three assists, all coming after a 1-1 halftime score.
Soddy-Daisy 4, Coffee County 1: Chandler Hartman, Jose Enriquez, Jensen Harbaugh and Conor Harvey scored for the Trojans (3-0), and Enriquez and Harbaugh also had assists.
SOFTBALL
Red Bank 15, Lookout Valley 0: Hailey Hanks hit two home runs and drove in four runs, along with Bailee Phillips, who also homered and only allowed one hit in the three-inning victory. Zoe Helms drove in two runs and doubled, along with Lexie Wright.
TENNIS
GPS 3, Westminster 2: Erin Ensign won 6-4, 7-5, and the doubles tandems of MK Johnson/Caroline Clark and Chloe Nicola/Madison Arden helped the Bruisers win a close match.
– Notre Dame earned 8-1 wins over Hixson. The Lady Fighting Irish (3-0) were led by Savina Jones and Hannah Widerkehr, who won their doubles match and singles matches 8-0. Hixson’s Ellinor Campbell outlasted Morgan Hicks in an 8-6 singles victory. The Irish (2-1) were dominant in singles, while Evan Nowell and CJ Petrin won their doubles match 8-0. The Wildcats’ Chapman Brown and Theo Malloy won 8-2 in doubles.
– Hixson’s girls beat Red Bank 5-4 on Thursday as Eddy Brown delivered a big win with a 9-8 singles victory in which she won a 7-4 tiebreaker over Natalie Phillips. Hixson’s boys won 7-2 over Red Bank with Conner Hobbs and Avery Albergotti leading the way. Red Bank’s Vraj Patel won his singles match 8-4 and teammed up with Chandler McDowell for a doubles win.
– Signal Mountain pulled out a 5-4 victory Thursday over Notre Dame in which Ryan Griggs and Nathan Morris won close matches for the Eagles. The Lady Irish beat the Lady Eagles 7-2 as Savina Jones, Hannah Widerkehr, Hannah Cassell and Sara Willingham won in singles and doubles.
– East Hamilton beat Ooltewah 9-0 in both varsity matches Thursday. Ethan Prichard won 8-0 in singles and doubles, teaming up with Jason Shelton. Tenley Yates, Zoey Burgner, Maddie Morrison and Sydney Tiemeyer led the Lady Hurricanes.
Compiled by Patrick MacCoon and Lindsey Young. Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon. Contact Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.