J.V. Tigers improve to .500 on season

The Mountain Home JV Tigers have been playing well of late, as they improved their conference and season records both to .500.

Tigers 14

Skyview 4

Tom Hennessey had three hits and Gabe Anderson shut down Skyview as the Tigers beat the Hawks, 14-4, in five innings.

Gabe Anderson struck out 10 in the win, and also had a hit and RBI.

Tom Hennessey had three hits and drove in a run. Kevin Anderson had two hits including a triple and two RBIs, David Bitrick had a hit and an RBI, Anthony Castillo had a hit, Trevor Woodruff had three RBIs, and Logan Monasterio had one RBI.

"Gabe Anderson threw a 10-strikeout complete game," said Tiger JV baseball coach Matt Bundy. "It was a great game to get back on the winning track."

Tigers 11

Columbia 4

Mountain Home scored in every inning but one as they pounded out 10 hits in the 11-4 conference win at Columbia.

David Bitrick, Logan Monasterio and Shawn Lewis all had two hits, Bitrick and Monasterio both knocked in two runs, Lewis, one. Trevor Woodruff and Jon McCabe both had hits and RBIs, Devan Wilkinson and Tom Hennessey also had hits.

Hennessey picked up the win, with relief help from Trevor Woodruff.

"Tom Hennessey threw six great innings and Trevor Woodruff did a great job in relief," said Coach Bundy.

"Shawn Lewis had a couple of real nice plays at catcher that saved a couple of runs and really spurred the team on. It was a great win against a great team."

Columbia 5

Tigers 3

Mountain Home hosted Columbia on April 11 and had quite a battle before losing 5-3 at home.

Mountain Home jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one, but Columbia tied it in the second and took the lead with a run in the third. The Wildcats added single runs in the sixth and seventh to go up, 5-2. The Tigers managed just one run in the bottom of the seventh, falling short, 5-3.

Mountain Home managed just three hits in the game. Shawn Lewis had a hit and knocked in two runs, Trevor Woodruff had a double, and Logan Monasterio had a hit.

Jon McCabe had an RBI and pitched six good innings before being relieved by Trevor Woodruff.

"It was a pitchers battle," said Coach Bundy. "Jon McCabe threw a great game and Trevor threw one inning of relief. There were not many hits on either side."

Mtn. Home 11

Jerome 3

The Tigers hosted Jerome's JV on April 12, and scored in every inning on their way to an 11-3 win.

Anthony Castillo had two hits, Logan Monasterio, David Bitrick, Shawn Lewis, Chris Maholick, Jon McCabe, Tom Hennessey and Devan Wilkinson all had hits, Monasterio had two RBIs, Bitrick, McCabe and Maholick had RBIs, Maholick had an inside-the-park home run. Ronny Young had three RBIs and Kevin Anderson had one RBI.

"We got to see the most exciting play in baseball when Chris Maholick legged out an inside-the-park homer," said Coach Bundy.

"Devan Wilkinson pitched a solid four innings to get the win. Anthony Castillo and Trevor Woodruff did great jobs in relief."

Vallivue 5

Tigers 3

Vallivue scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning to hand the Tigers a 5-3 loss last Tuesday at Mountain Home.

Mountain Home had just three hits in the game. Shawn Lewis had a hit and RBI, and Chris Maholick and Anthony Castillo had hits. Trevor Woodruff and David Bitrick had RBIs.

"It was a tough loss in extra innings," said Coach Bundy. "Eric Christiansen threw a great game, but we struggled a bit offensively. It was a good overall effort."

Tigers 11

Kuna 4

The Tigers scored in all but one inning in rolling to an 11-4 win over Kuna last Thursday at Mountain Home.

The Tigers pounded out a season-high 13 hits, led by Shawn Lewis with four, including two doubles, and he knocked in three runs. Tom Hennessey had three hits including a double, David Bitrick had two hits and three RBIs, Chris Maholick, Trevor Woodruff and Anthony Castillo each had a hit and RBI. Jon McCabe threw a complete game win and had five strikeouts.

"Tom Hennessey, David Bitrick and Shawn Lewis all came up with keys hits to really jump-start the offense and get us rolling," said Coach Bundy. "We played our best defensive game of the year."

Tigers 12

Kuna 11

Mountain Home shot out to a 12-1 lead, but Kuna came back to make a game of it, with Anthony Castillo getting the final two outs to preserve the 12-11 win Friday at Kuna. Jon McCabe had three hits and an RBI. Chris Maholick, Trevor Woodruff and David Bitrick each had two hits, Maholick and Woodruff had RBIs, Kevin Anderson had a double and two RBIs, Anthony Castillo and Shawn Lewis had hits and RBIs.

Tom Hennessey got the win, with relief help form Trevor Woodruff and Anthony Castillo.

"Kuna mounted a great comeback after being down 12-1, and we really had to do a gut-check in the bottom of the seventh with two Kuna runners on base and only one out," said Coach Bundy.

"Anthony came on and got them to po out and ground out to end the game and come away with the victory. We continue to hit the ball well. We struggled some defensively in the fifth inning, but it was good to stop the Kuna rally and get the win."

The win improved the Tigers to 5-5 in conference play, and 7-7 overall.