Powell Valley pounds Wildcats in 11-0 shutout
CODY DALTON / Sports Writer

BIG STONE GAP "? Host Powell Valley took advantage of two big innings and solid pitching from Paul Thomas as the Vikings rolled to an 11-0 victory Tuesday over Pound in the Lonesome Pine District baseball opener for both clubs at Buster Taylor Field.

Coach J.W. Salyers' Vikings (5-1, 1-0) opened the scoring in the first inning when Lucas Fanning scored on a sacrifice hit by Thomas scored Lucas Fannon for a 1-0 lead after one inning.

Powell Valley, paced by Fannon's two-run double, produced a six-run explosion in the second inning to take a 7-0 lead as the Vikings batted through the order against the Wildcats (0-5, 0-1).

Pound threatened to get back on track in the top of the fourth inning when Wesley Sturgill and Justin Rutherford slapped back-to-back singles off Thomas, but the Vikings' right-hander escaped the inning without giving up a run.

Thomas pitched 4 2/3 innings and struck out six batters while allowing four Pound hits.

"He hasn't thrown a whole lot this year,"? said Powell Valley coach J.W. Salyers. "He needs to continue to get better and is getting in a rhythm. When he gets in a rhythm, he starts throwing more strikes than not. He'll get there, though."?

Powell Valley catcher Gil Lusk added his second RBI of the game with a single up the middle as the Vikings tacked on four more runs in the fourth inning. Lusk went 2-for-3 in the game and Greg Bolling drove in two runs as well.

"Both the second and fourth innings, we stayed back on the ball, kept our head down and hit the ball,"? Salyers said. "The other two innings we were out in front and it showed. We didn't have much production. We just have to get better at swinging the bat."?

The game ended under the 10-run mercy rule when Pound failed to score in the fifth.

"Thomas threw the ball pretty well,"? Pound coach Chris Wilson said. "He threw some good fastballs. He kept my guys from getting good contact with the ball. You have to give him the credit. We have to work on hitting the ball better because he only gave up four hits.

Wilson also pointed to the Wildcats' defensive mistakes as another key to the game's outcome.

"We had some guys make some mental errors and they didn't know what to do sometimes,"? said Pound coach Chris Wilson. "That seems to be the case for most of the games we play. We just have to work to make the plays and eliminate the big innings. We need to come out and hit the ball so we can get us a win."?

Salyers saw areas in need of improvement on his team as well, especially after a week of not being able to play because of the weather.

"We hadn't played in a week, so we were rusty, especially with the bats,"? Salyers said. "I wasn't very pleased with the way we swung the bat, but last week there wasn't but so much batting practice you can get in. Hopefully, by Friday, we can get back into the groove of things and start swinging the bats better."?