After starting last season with eight straight losses, Houston High School baseball coach Brent Hall said he will take wins any way they come.
The Tigers managed just one hit in their season opener, but they played a clean game defensively and rode the right arm of junior Aaron Cantrell to a 3-2 victory Tuesday against Mountain Grove.
“The main thing is we got a win – just the fact that we haven’t won a whole lot recently,” Hall said.
Cantrell carried the load by striking out 12 batters in a complete-game victory. After giving up a run in the top of the seventh inning and allowing the potential tying run to reach second base, Cantrell fanned the final two batters to put the finishing touches on an impressive outing.
Cantrell, who went 1-9 with a 7.08 ERA as a sophomore, needed just one game to match last season’s win total.
“He was mentally tough,” Hall said. “He found ways to finish innings and the game. If he is going to be the ace and man of the staff, he has to do that.”
Sophomore Tanner Cantrell had the Tigers’ lone hit – a first-inning RBI single that brought home Devin Coulter. Trevor Merckling had a bases-loaded walk. Coulter scored a pair of runs.
Mountain Grove (0-1) tied the game at 1-all in the top of the fifth on No. 9 hitter Shane Walter’s groundout.
HHS answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Coulter walked, Tanner Cantrell was intentionally walked and with two outs, Austin Foster dropped a fly ball in short right field to bring home Coulter. Freshman Whitley Welch walked to load the bases and Merckling drew a walk to bring home Tanner Cantrell.
Despite managing one hit, the Tigers (1-0) had baserunners in five of the six innings. The team drew eight walks and two batters were hit by pitches.
“I know we didn’t have a lot of hits, but we had some good at-bats,” Hall said. “We hit the ball hard several times and didn’t get anything to show for it.”
Mountain Grove’s Austin Creed walked leading off the seventh and scored on Blaine Halford’s RBI single to make it 3-2. After Halford stole second base, Aaron Cantrell fanned Walter and pinch hitter Chase Cramer to end the threat.
Panthers starter Garrett Newberry gave up three runs – all unearned – in 4 2/3 innings in the loss. He walked four and struck out five.
“I think we could have been more aggressive early in the count,” Hall said. “Their pitcher (Newberry) had a good off-speed pitch. What I told the guys as the game went on, ‘If you don’t like to hit that curveball, try to hit the fastball early.'”
The Tigers face Salem on Wednesday before concluding the three-game Neal’s Sporting Goods Leadoff Classic with Cuba on Thursday. The first day of the tournament was postponed Monday due to a saturated field, pushing the schedule back one day and squeezing three games into three consecutive days.
“We’ve got things to improve on,” Hall said. “But overall for the first game, I’m pretty pleased.”
HOUSTON 3, MOUNTAIN GROVE 2
| MTN. GROVE (0-1) | AB | R | H | BI |
| Foster rf Cramer ph |
3 1 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
0 0 |
| McNew ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Otwell c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Collins 3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Newberry p | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Creed cf | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Allen 1b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Halford lf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Walter 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| HOUSTON (1-0) | AB | R | H | BI |
| Coulter ss | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Walker 1b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TCantrell 3b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| ACantrell p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alston lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WWelch dh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Merckling 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| SWelch rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keeney c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SB: McNew, Allen, Halford. SAC: Walker 2.
| Mountain Grove | 000 | 010 | 1 | – 2 4 3 |
| Houston | 100 | 020 | x | – 3 1 0 |
| MOUNTAIN GROVE | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Newberry, L | 4.2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Creed | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| HOUSTON | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| ACantrell, W 1-0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 |