Chandler Allen propels Tigers to big week
By Bart Moss for the FCT
The Red Bay Tigers had a successful week on the diamond, racking up three wins. The Tigers beat Hackleburg, Colbert County and Covenant Christian.
Since the Tigers’ struggles in the first week of the season in games against Vina and Mars Hill, Coach Richard Maggerise said he felt like his team needed a wakeup call.
“We showed a great deal of lack of focus in our opening games,” said Maggerise. “I felt we didn’t have anywhere near the focus and attention like we needed to be successful. The coaching staff really challenged the players to see if they were fully committed to competing and doing everything they can to help the team.”
The Tigers responded to their coaches’ challenge.
“Since that discussion, we’ve been on top of our game,” said Maggerise. “We’ve had guys staying after practice to get in extra work, and we committed only one error in the last four games.”
Maggerise said he is proud of how his team is responding and wants to continue the momentum into area play in a couple of weeks.
“We have had a great overall team effort,” Maggerise said. “We want to compete on every play regardless of the situation or outcome. We have a very big two weeks against some very good teams coming up. We need to be playing well before we open area play against Phil Campbell later this month.”
Red Bay 5, Hackleburg 0
Chandler Allen didn’t allow a single run as the Red Bay Tigers (6-3) defeated the Hackleburg Panthers 5-0 Friday. Allen allowed just one hit and forced a fly out from Harper to end the game.
The Tigers grabbed an early lead. Red Bay scored on an error and a stolen base in the first inning.
Allen and Kolby Bragwell each drove in one run to lead Red Bay. The Tigers didn’t commit any errors in the field.
Red Bay 6, Colbert County 1
The Red Bay Tigers jumped out to an early lead over the Colbert County Indians and took home a 6-1 victory Thursday.
The Tigers took an early lead in the first inning. Chandler Allen singled on a 3-2 count in the first inning, scoring one run.
Red Bay scored three runs in the seventh inning led by a single by Hayden Murray and a walk by Chase Allen.
Kolby Bragwell earned the win for the Tigers. He pitched six innings, giving up no runs, no hits, striking out 12 and walking one. Two relievers helped Red Bay close out the victory. Skylar Brazil threw two-thirds of an inning. Allen recorded the last out to earn the save for the Tigers.
Red Bay had ten hits in the game. Murray, Brazil, and Allen each collected multiple hits for the Tigers. Allen led Red Bay with two runs batted in. He went 2-for-3 on the day. The Tigers didn’t commit a single error in the field.
Red Bay 7, Covenant Christian 0
Hayden Murray recorded a shutout as the Red Bay Tigers defeated the Covenant Christian Eagles 7-0 last Monday. Murray allowed just six hits and ended the game with a strikeout of an Eagle batter.
Red Bay jumped out to an early lead. The Tigers scored on a single by Hayden Murray, a groundout by Kolby Bragwell, an error, and a groundout by Skylar Brazil in the first inning.
Murray earned the win for the Tigers. He pitched seven innings, allowing no runs, six hits, striking out six, and walking one.
Red Bay had seven hits in the game. Murray and Chandler Allen each collected multiple hits for the Tigers. Bragwell and Murray each drove in two runs to lead Red Bay. The Tigers wore out the base paths, as three players stole at least two bases. Kaleb Burroughs led the way with four stolen bases. Red Bay went errorless in the field.
