Baseball | 2/21/2024 7:42:00 AM

The Clinton Arrows Baseball team dropped a close 3-0 contest against the Northwest Rankin Cougars on Tuesday night at Arrow Field. The loss drops the Arrows to 1-2 on the young season.

The Arrows outhit the Cougars on Tuesday, but were unable to push runs across the plate.  The Arrows had 7 hits including a multi-hit night from Catcher Stone Crain, but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.  Josef Walker, Ethan Dodson, AJ Seiter, and Mason Osborne added hits for the Arrows, and Parker Thames added a double to lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning before a bunt attempt became the product of a great play by the pitcher for Northwest Rankin that turned into a double play.  The Cougars scored their 3 runs in the top of the 6th inning.  A 1-out single was followed by a walk and a hit by pitch to load the bases.  Kemper Meacham came into the game on the mound and got a big strikeout to get the 2nd out of the inning before 2 consecutive 2 out singles drove home the Cougars' 3 runs for the game.

The Arrows hit into 3 double plays on the night, all 3 coming in the first 3 innings of the game.  Coupled with 9 strikeouts, the Arrows were unable to group enough at the plate to score against the Cougars.

There were plenty of positives from the pitching staff on Tuesday night as the season moves along.  Ethan Ross started the game, going 4 innings, only allowing 1 hit to go along with 6 strikeouts.  Phillip Burchfield got the loss on the mound for the Arrows, going 1.1 innings, allowing 1 hit and 3 earned runs along with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.  Meacham, Brody Zumbro, and Seiter combined to throw the final 1.2 innings, allowing 3 hits and no runs to cap the night.

The Arrows return to action this weekend in the Mid-Mississippi Classic as they play host to the McGill-Toolen Yellow Jackets out of Mobile, Alabama on Friday night at Arrow Field.  First pitch will be at 7 PM.