Lyons have strong showing at Donny Everett Classic | Uncategorized
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — The Lyon County Lyons recently traveled to Clarksville, Tennessee, for the Donny Everett Classic, an annual event in honor of a late Clarksville High School graduate who played at Vanderbilt University.
The Lyons kicked off the three-day baseball extravaganza with a 9-5 win over Clarksville East on Friday, April 8. Two big early innings gave the Lyons a significant cushion for a hitting drought that came in later innings.
Gunnar Bingham was the only Lyon to manage a hit in the first inning, yet defensive errors and walked batters netted the Lyons four runs. The Lyons team had some struggles of its own. Tyler Webb, who was hit by a pitch, scored the Eagles’ first run, but the offensive effort was shut down momentarily.
Jackson Shoulders’ line drive single drove in a run to put the Lyons ahead 5-1. Johnny Bingham used a two-run double to push the lead out to 7-1. He scored on a wild pitch to finish the inning out at 8-1.
The Eagles cut that lead to 8-2 in the bottom of the third inning with a series of singles. Turner Hurst drove in the Lyons’ final run of the night in the top of the fifth inning for a 9-2 advantage with Clarksville East putting up two runs in the bottom of the fifth and one more in the sixth, after a series of pitching changes.
Brady Belt is credited with the win. He pitched four innings, allowing two runs over five hits and struck out four.
The Bingham brothers led the Lyon County offense. Gunnar Bingham was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Johnny Bingham went 2-for-3 with a double, scoring one run and three RBIs.
The next installation of the Donny Everett Classic on Saturday, April 9 put the Lyons up against one of the area’s top competitors, Mount Juliet. In a nail biter ending, the Lyons’ early lead held on for the long haul for a 4-3 win.
After a fruitless first two innings, Brody Williams’ line drive double sent Gunnar Bingham to put the Lyons on the board 1-0. Austin Spears hit a hard ground ball down the third baseline, causing a Mount Juliet error that sent courtesy runner Peyton Carney home for the 2-0 advantage. Hurst doubled down to send Spears home and finish the inning with a 3-0 lead.
Mount Juliet scored three late runs in the failed comeback on a home run by Justin Lee in the fifth and a single by Kyle Fitzgibbons in the seventh to make it 4-3.
With just one out on the board and just one run between the teams, third baseman Spears, snagged Rayder Soto’s ball and sent it home where Williams was waiting for the second out. Mount Juliet saw the game slip away with runners on first and second when Shoulders struck Easton Krenzke out swinging.
The Lyons converted just four hits into four runs with Brody Williams and Hurst each turning doubles into RBIs. Brady Belt was 2-for-3 from the plate with a stolen base to boot.
Shoulders had the big win on the mound. He lasted all seven innings surrendering three runs, two of them earned, over six hits, while striking out four.
Clarksville High School dealt the Lyons its second loss of the season in the final round of the Donny Everett Classic on Sunday, April 10. The 5-4 loss was a tough one considering the Lyons had held the Wildcats off until the seventh inning. A late rally in the bottom of the seventh gave the Wildcats two runs and the win in walk-off fashion.
Clarksville scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth after a blank scoreboard loomed for nearly an hour.
The Lyons got things going in the top of the fifth scoring three runs when Brody Williams and Shoulders hit back-to-back home runs to take the lead 3-2. The Wildcats answered back with a series of singles deep in the outfield to tie things up 3-3.
The Lyons took the 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth when Hurst led with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly to center from Eli Baker.
Three strikeouts claimed the last inning for the Lyons, leaving the door open for Clarksville in the seventh.
Williams was 2-4 for the Lyons with a home run and two RBIs. Shoulders went 2-2 with a home run and an RBI. Hurst finished 2-3 with two doubles and a run scored.