Tigers sweep Nampa; move into fourth place

The Mountain Home Tigers swept their conference series with Nampa last week, moving ahead of Columbia into fourth place in the SIC 4A baseball standings.

Tigers 5

Bulldogs 4

The Tigers won last Tuesday at Nampa's Rodeo Park, scoring two runs in the top of the seventh to come back to win 5-4.

Nampa scored two runs in the first inning after two were out to take a 2-0 lead over the Tigers, but the Tigers scored three runs in the top of the second inning to go up 3-2.

It stayed 3-2 until the fifth, when Nampa managed to score two runs to go up 4-3.

A pinch-hit single by Jake Hennessey in the top of the seventh scored Brock Morris with what proved to be the winning run, as the Tigers came back to win 5-4.

"Anthony (Castillo) had a huge game for us, and there's a kid we don't play every day, so when he does, it's awesome he takes advantage of it, and he's going to get another start tomorrow because of it," said Tiger baseball coach Travis DeVore in radio comments after the game.

"Certainly, Jake Hennessey is no different. There's a guy that's hit two game-winning hits for us this year as a freshman -- that's pretty huge."

Anthony Castillo had three hits and an RBI for the Tigers, Jake Hennessey and Brock Morris had RBI singles; Hennessey's proved to be the game-winner. Ricky Lee, Ricky Baker and Trevor Woodruff also had hits.

Eric Christiansen picked up the win in relief of Tom Hennessey. Christiansen came in with one out in the fifth and improved to 3-3 on the season.

Tigers 6

Bulldogs 1

Mountain Home hosted the Nampa Bulldogs last Wednesday and got another quality performance from Gabe Anderson as they beat the Bulldogs 6-1.

Jake Hennessey's two-run single after an hour lightening and rain delay broke a 1-1 tie as the Tigers took the lead for good. They would add two more runs in the fourth and a single run in the sixth for a 6-1 win.

"I'm really proud of Gabe's effort -- he's actually thrown lights out for us his last few starts," said Coach DeVore after the game.

"He's learned a lot this year. Early in the season he would challenge hitters with pitches right down the middle, and now, when he gets up on guys, he's working around the count up and down. He's learned a lot at what it's like to pitch at this level, and it's only going to help him when he goes on and plays at the college level next year."

Gabe Anderson improved to 4-2 on the season, pitching a one-hitter while striking out nine. He also helped himself out at the plate with a hit and RBI. Ricky Lee had three hits and scored two runs for the Tigers. Jake Hennessey had a two-run single, Eric Christiansen had a hit and RBI, and Chris Maholick had a double.

The Tigers improved to 6-6 in conference play, in fourth place in the conference standings behind Bishop Kelly, Emmett and Skyview.

The Tigers are 9-15 overall. They close out their regular season schedule against Skyview. They were home against the Hawks yesterday, and are at Skyview today for the five p.m. game.

The District III 4A Baseball Tournament starts Monday at Bishop Kelly and Rodeo Park in Nampa.