Rebels split two games for Scenic City Classic

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The Franklin County Rebels lost to the McCallie Blue Tornado 15-0 on the road Saturday in their second and final game for the Scenic City Classic.

The Blue Tornado scored at least one run in every inning while the Rebels were held hitless on the other side as the contest ended after five innings.

Franklin County head baseball coach Mike Crossland said his team was overmatched and overpowered for the day.

“This program is built on fight and getting after people, and we just flat out didn’t do it today,” he said. “Obviously, we’re facing an Ole Miss commit on the mound, and he dominated us, but that’s no excuse for us not to fight every at-bat and compete our rear ends off every plate appearance.”

Austin Roberts got hit by a pitch in the top of the first inning to give the Rebels their only baserunner in the contest.

The Blue Tornado’s second batter of the game doubled and came around to score off of a throwing error during an attempted steal of third base to give McCallie a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

McCallie’s offense produced another five runs in the bottom of the second to quickly put the Rebels in a 6-0 hole.

The Blue Tornado added another two runs to the deficit in the bottom of the third with a two-run home run.

The game would be put out of reach in the bottom of the fourth as the Blue Tornado scored seven runs in the frame to push the lead up to 15 runs.

The Rebels were retired in order in the top of the fifth to bring an end to the contest via the mercy rule.

Crossland said that his team will need to use Saturday’s game as a learning experience going into their first game of district play Monday.

“If we don’t shorten up our swings and compete, we’ll have the same outcome Monday night,” he said. “We’ve got work to do between now and Monday, and hopefully we care enough to make those adjustments and compete. That’s all I ever ask our team to do.”

With the loss, the Rebels moved to 3-1 on the season.

Rebels 5, East Hamilton 1

The Rebels beat the East Hamilton Hurricanes 5-1 at McCallie School Friday in their first game for the Scenic City Classic.

The Rebels took an early lead and limited the Hurricanes’ offense throughout the contest to start off the event with a victory.

Payton Miller opened the scoring on the bottom of the first with an RBI single. Gus Gardner followed with a single of his own to move Miller along the basepaths, and an error on the play allowed Miller to come all the way around to score to make it a 2-0 game early.

The next score for either team would come in the bottom of the fifth as Brayden Henley hit an RBI single to grow the lead to 3-0.

The Hurricanes got their lone run in the top of the sixth as their cleanup hitter led off the frame with a solo home run over the left-field fence.

However, the Rebels didn’t let the score get any closer as RBI singles by Sam Vincent and Gardner in the bottom half of the sixth gave them a four-run advantage, and they held the Hurricanes off the board in the top of the seventh to finish off the win.

Casen Gilliam got the win on the mound for the Rebels after pitching five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and two hits allowed as the starter.

Josiah Cullins pitched the final two innings with three strikeouts, two hits and one run allowed to record a save.

With the win, the Rebels improved to 3-0 on the season.

They will next play Monday at home against Coffee County Central High School. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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