JCHS Longhorns joust Chuckey-Doak Black Knights 11-2
By Tim Chambers
AFTON—Johnson County proved to be the “Knights” in shining armor on Tuesday in Afton. The Longhorns rode a strong pitching effort from Nick Whitener to an 11-2 win over Chuckey-Doak in non-league play.
Whitener dominated the game from start to finish, allowing only four hits. One of those was a solo home run to Tanner Barkley in the fourth, but his team gave him plenty of run support to offset that.
“Our kids bounced back in a big way after the loss at Unicoi County on Monday,” said JCHS head coach Pete Pavusek. “Nick pitched a great game and several guys stepped up and hit the ball well. This was a good win for us.”
The Horns dented the scoreboard for two runs in the second inning. Shane Greer doubled in Logan Sargent who had singled and later scored on a groundout by Bud Icenhour, giving them an early 2-0 advantage.
They stretched that in the following frame with a five-run output despite a rough start.
Samuel Icenhour doubled but was thrown out at the plate. Alex Tressler’s bunt reignited the fire followed by back-to-back singles from Whitener and Peyton Fenner. Sargent picked up an RBI by drawing a bases-loaded walk. Then the floodgates opened.
Greer picked up a pair of RBIs with a double. Jake Bower amassed two more with a long sacrifice fly giving the Horns a 7-0 cushion.
The Black Knights picked up a pair of runs in the fourth after Johnson County had added another score in the top half.
JCHS put the game away scoring three more times in the sixth. Whitener retired the final seven batters in the game.
The talented junior helped his cause by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Greer was 2-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. Fenner was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Sam Icenhour and Sargent went 2-for-3 each with an RBI and two runs scored.
For the rest of the story, pick up a copy of this week’s Tomahawk.