Ooltewah senior baseball players Patrick Clarkson and Zach Cates made key plays Thursday to help lead the Owls to a 4-1 win at Boyd Buchanan.
With two outs in the top of the third inning, Clarkson had a perfect read from second base to steal third with ease. He then scored on a hit toward third by Harrison Mills, whose hustle down the line helped him beat the throw to first and put the Owls up 2-0, which was all the run support Cates needed.
Clarkson also hit a sharp single up the middle to drive in two runs in the fourth, and Cates threw 112 pitches (70 for strikes) in a complete game with nine strikeouts, one of which came on a called third strike on a curveball to strand two Boyd Buchanan runners in the fifth.
"The thing I love about this team the most is we compete and never give up," Cates said. "We were down 6-1 to (Boyd Buchanan) two weekends ago, and we came back to win 7-6 in the last inning. I knew I had to bear down tonight and compete against a solid lineup. I got in a rhythm working my fastball on the outside corner."
Isaac Hughes, another Ooltewah senior, was big in the leadoff spot as the left-hander went 3-for-4 and drove in the game's first run on a hot shot past the diving second baseman. Hughes' single scored William Bolt, who got the Owls (7-6) going with a single and stolen base in the third.
Brian Hitchcox's team stole six bases in the win, and third baseman Harrison Mills turned a nice double play on a sharp line drive.
"Zach had command tonight and put some guys away with big pitches," Hitchcox said. "We played good defense behind him tonight and stole some bases and got guys moving. We take the extra 90 any time a team gives it to us. We aren't going to knock down walls, that's not who we are.
"Isaac did a really good job in the leadoff spot, too. He has a great approach at the plate and was putting good swings on the ball. He's definitely a guy at the plate who can get us going."
The Bucs (4-5) scored on an opposite-field double by Brodie Lowe to right in the sixth.
South Pittsburg 18, Lookout Valley 6: Austin Jackson drove in three runs for the second straight day, and Coy Hackney hit a three-run homer as the Pirates rolled. South Pittsburg leadoff hitter Jayden Mount added three RBIs with a homer and a double. Rylan Collins doubled and had two hits for Lookout Valley, and Samuel Ryan had three RBIs.
Ringgold 5, Coahulla Creek 4: In a GHSA Region 6-AAA game, the Tigers (10-9, 7-1) built a 5-0 lead and withstood a late rally by Coahulla Creek (6-11, 3-5). Brady Hermann had two hits and an RBI, and Connor Christopher drove in two runs for Ringgold, which held on thanks to Mason Parker's 2 1/3 innings of hitless, scoreless relief. Gen Glins had two hits and an RBI for the Colts.
LFO 4, Adairsville 1: Donnie Brown and Tanner Mantooth combined to limit the Tigers to five hits and an earned run for Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (10-7, 5-2 Region 6-AAA). Jacob Gregg, Peyton Tipton and Eli Walker each had an RBI for LFO.
Rockmart 8, Sonoraville 4: Rockmart (12-5, 7-1 Region 6-AAA) scored five runs in the sixth inning to even the series. Sam Wilbanks had the big blow for the winners with a three-run double, while Kannon England drove in three runs for Sonoraville (11-6, 6-2).
Trion 16, Christian Heritage 0: Brandon Dover hit a pair of homers and drove in three runs while also pitching three hitless innings for the Bulldogs (11-5, 8-2 Region 6-A public). Brody Brown had two hits, a homer and drove in four runs, while Kade Smith had a homer among his two hits and drove in three runs for Trion.
SOFTBALL
Rhea County 6, Walker Valley 5: Bailey Roberts hit an RBI double in the top of the 11th, and she and Courtney Wilson each had three hits for the Lady Golden Eagles. Allie Shaver was dominant in relief to pick up the win as she threw seven scoreless innings with six strikeouts. Sierra Brown and Addy Girard homered for Walker Valley.
McMinn County 15, Ooltewah 2: Four players had three hits each for the Lady Cherokees, whose Lexi Cooley and Cami Wade had three RBIs apiece and combined for four extra-base hits. Emma Ladd homered for Ooltewah, and Brooklyn Smith went 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Meigs County 12, Stone Memorial 1: Lainey Fitzgerald and Sierra Howard homered for Meigs County, and Fitzgerald struck out six batters in three scoreless innings.
BOYS' SOCCER
Boyd Buchanan 7, SAS 0: Cam Park had a hat trick, Mills Wood added two goals and Ben Hauke and Triston McCurdy also scored in the shutout of St. Andrew's-Sewanee.
TENNIS
- East Hamilton swept Hixson with a 6-3 girls' win and a 9-0 boys' win. Tenley Yates posted a dominant shutout as the Lady Hurricanes' No. 2 singles player and teamed up with Zoey Burgner for an 8-0 victory in doubles. The Hurricanes were dominant throughout as Will Harden, Josh Hales, Aarav Amin, Seth Norman and Het Patel all won 8-0 in singles.
- Soddy-Daisy beat Red Bank 9-0 in a boys' match. Josh Hicks and Jared Guadarrama won singles matches 8-0 and teamed up in double to triumph by the same score.
Roundup reports compiled by Patrick MacCoon and Lindsey Young. Contact them at sports@timesfreepress.com.