Tigers enter district with losses

The Mountain Home Tigers head into the District III 4A baseball tournament on a 12-game losing skid after ending the regular season with losses to Middleton and Kuna.

Middleton 5, Mountain Home 2

Mountain Home had the winning run on base in the bottom of the seventh when they scored two runs but could score no more as they lost to the Middleton Vikings in another close game, 5-2, April 28 in Mountain Home.

Middleton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and added single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings.

The Tigers scored two in the bottom of the seventh and had the bases loaded with the potential winning run at the plate when the game ended.

"That was a tough game," said Tigers Coach Matt Bundy after the game. "We got our offense rolling a little bit late there and had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh. We just couldn't quite push those last few runs across."

Cody Blakemore had two hits for the Tigers. Teddy Reaume had a double, David Welle had an RBI-single and Curran Price and Tyler McCall also had hits.

Blakemore went the distance, with just four of the eight hits off him coming after that first inning. He also struck out six batters.

Kuna 19, Mountain Home 6

(Five innings)

Kuna broke open a close game with seven runs in the second inning and nine in the third on the way to a19-6 five inning win over the Tigers at Kuna on Thursday.

The score was tied at 2 after one, but the Kavemen struck for seven runs in the second to go up, 9-2.

Mountain Home managed to cut the deficit to three with four runs in the top of the third, but the Kavemen put the game out of reach in the third, scoring nine runs. They added another run in the fourth for the final.

Mountain Home managed just four hits in the ball game -- two each by Cody Blakemore and Zach Petersen, who both drove in two runs. David Welle also had an RBI.

Tyler McCall suffered the loss, as the Kavemen pounded out 17 hits off three Tiger pitchers.

"We jumped out and took the lead, then we had a little bit of trouble finding the strike zone and a give them some runs," the coach said. "We kind of let that one get away from us."

Kuna 13, Mountain Home 2

The Tigers closed out their regular season schedule with a 13-2 loss to the Kavemen at home on Friday.

A four-run fourth inning gave Kuna an 8-0 lead, and a five-run five put the game out of reach, as the Tigers lost in five.

Mountain Home had just three hits in the game. Tyler McCall's RBI-double scored the Tigers' last run in the fifth. Bailey Miler-Hodge and Luke Lockard also had hits. Jesse Cobos suffered the loss for the Tigers.

The Tigers had the same type of scenario on Friday as they did the previous night, Coach Bundy said.

"Jesse (Cobos) was throwing well," the coach said. "We just made some mistakes defensively, and... we waited until the end to try and put some runs on the board. We just need to be more consistent in our run production and make sure that when we get guys in scoring position we produce. We put guys on base, we just need to bring it together a little bit better."

The Tigers finished the regular season 1-14 in league and 3-19 overall. They opened this year's District III 4A baseball tournament on Monday against third-seeded Caldwell.

"(It's) a brand new season," Coach Bundy said regarding the district playoffs. "We played Caldwell pretty tough. We're looking at coming out and having a good game on Monday and seeing where we can turn this second season."