Newspaper Page Text
March 23, 2022
Page 7B
ftBeporter
SPOTLIGHT ON THE MCMS DIAMOND DOGS
The MCMS baseball team includes, kneeling, L-R: Jackson Redus, Madox Burnsed, Hagen Bailey, Luke Wright, Penn Tyler,
Bradley Hendricks, Gavin Mitchell, Daniel Jungberg, Aiden Morrow, Andrew Snow, Hunter Norton and Carson Barnette.
Standing L-R: Sam Mitchell, Hess Balltzglier, Grayson Bennett, Michael Beasley, Bradley Acosta, Sam Harrell, Mat
thew Biers, Evan Walker, Mac Nelson, Lucas White, Payton Jackson, Jordan Singleton and Caspian Chambers. (Photo Jill
Burnsed)
MCMS Bulldogs win 4th straight
By Michael Smallwood
michael.smallwood@mcschools.org
The Monroe County Middle School
baseball team reeled off its 4th win
in a row with a solid 8-2 victory over
Lamar County on Monday, March
21. The Bulldogs are now 6-1 head
ing into the final week of the regular
season.
On Monday, Grayson Bennett
started on the mound for the Dogs
and went three solid innings, only
giving up 2 rims while striking out 4.
Gavin Mitchell came on in relief and
went three scoreless innings, strik
ing about 4 also. A host of Bulldogs
helped at the plate. Base hits by
Bradley Hendrcks, Hess Balltzglier,
Michael Beasley, Gavin Mitchell, and
Jackson Redus all helped score runs.
The B team handled Lamar with
ease. The Bulldogs came within one
out of pitching a no hitter. Andrew
Snow pitched 3 hitless innings. The
Trojans didn’t record a hit until there
were 2 outs in the bottom of the 5th
inning. Snow also had 2 solid hits
at the plate. Also adding hits were
Hunter Norton, Evan Walker, and
Lucas White.
The Bulldogs won an epic pitching
battle with rival Upson Lee on March
17. The Bulldogs struck out 12, while
Upson sat down 8 Monroe hitters.
With both teams struggling to find an
offense, the game simply came down
to who would blink first. In the bot
tom of the 5th inning, Bradley Acosta
was finally able to get the Bulldogs
going with a double to left field. The
next batter, Evan Walker, flew out to
right allowing Acosta to tag and go to
third. After a strikeout, 3rd baseman
Hess Balltzglier singled to left to give
the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. However,
in the top of the 6th, Upson was
able to muster a little bit of offense
as well. Upson plated a run to tie
the game and had the bases loaded.
After a strikeout for the second out,
the Upson batter hit a screaming line
drive down the third base line. 3rd
baseman Hess Balltzglier was able
to pick it out of the air to end the
Upson threat. In the bottom of the
6th with one out, Bradley Hendricks
hit a dribbler down the first base line
that had just enough juice to keep the
pitcher from making a play. Next bat
ter up, Michael Beasley, hit a single to
left. With runners on 1st and 2nd and
one out, Grayson Bennet hit a bloop-
See DOGS Page 6C