The Huntland High School Hornets lost to the DeKalb County Tigers 13-6 at Cascade Saturday in their fourth and final game for the Viking Classic.

The Tigers scored at least one run in every inning to steadily pull away from Huntland as the Hornets finished the tournament with a record of 2-2.

The Hornets were the first team on the board as Caleb Maxwell hit a tworun home run to left field in the top of the first.

However, the Tigers got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first, and they scored two more runs in the bottom of the second to put Huntland in a 3-2 hole.

The Tigers went on to score four runs each in the third and fourth innings to expand the deficit against the Hornets to 11-2.

The Hornets made up some ground in the top of the fifth as Carson Riley hit an RBI single and Jed Ashley followed with a threerun home run to make it an 11-6 game.

However, the Tigers scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, and the game hit its time limit before the fifth inning ended as the Hornets lost by seven.

Parker Schultz pitched the first three innings for the Hornets with four strikeouts, six hits, three walks, four earned runs and three unearned runs allowed for the day.

Cayson Banks pitched one inning in relief with one strikeout, seven hits, three walks and six runs allowed.

With the loss, the Hornets moved to 11-2 on the season.

Hornets 14, Central Magnet 9

The Hornets beat the Central Magnet Tigers 14-9 at Cascade Saturday in their third game for the Viking Classic.

Both teams scored most of their runs in the last three innings of the contest as the Hornets outpaced Central Magnet late to open the day with a victory.

The Hornets scored the first run of the day as Ashley hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Grant Jernigan from third base, but the Tigers recorded a run of their own in the bottom of the first to tie the score at 1-1 early.

The Tigers went on to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to put the Hornets in a 3-1 hole.

However, the Hornets flipped the scoreboard in the top of the fifth as Bryant Mooney hit a three-run home run, and Eli Fitch contributed an RBI double a few batters later to give them a 5-3 advantage.

The Hornets further expanded their lead in the top of the sixth as an RBI double from Jernigan and an RBI single from Ashley made it a 7-3 game, but the Tigers then scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead down to 7-6.

The Hornets saved their best offensive inning for last as they scored seven runs in the top of the seventh. The scoring plays for the frame included RBI singles from Kingston Maxwell and Jernigan, a two-run single from Ashley and another three-run home run from Mooney to push the deficit up to 14-6.

The Tigers attempted to rally in the bottom of the seventh as they scored three more runs in the frame, but the Hornets then got the last out they needed to clinch a five-run victory.

Jernigan pitched the first three innings for the Hornets with five strikeouts, one hit and one run allowed for the game.

Kasen Kildoo pitched the remaining four innings in relief with two strikeouts, 11 hits, six earned runs and two unearned runs allowed.

With the win, the Hornets improved to 11-1 on the season.

Hornets 10, Heritage 3

The Hornets beat the Heritage Christian Angels 10-3 at Tullahoma Friday in their second game for the Viking Classic.

The Hornets scored at least one run in five of the game’s six innings as they recorded a blowout victory for the day.

The Hornets quickly jumped ahead in the top of the first as RBI singles from Riley and Caleb Maxwell gave them an early 2-0 advantage.

However, the Angels countered with a three-run frame in the bottom of the first to put the Hornets in a 3-2 hole.

The Hornets retook the lead in the top of the second as Riley hit a two-run single and Caleb Maxwell contributed another RBI single in the frame, and an RBI double from Fitch in the top of the third gave Huntland a 6-3 lead.

The Hornets expanded their advantage further in the top of the fourth as Kildoo hit a two-run, inside- the-park home run to make it an 8-3 game.

Following a scoreless fifth inning, the Hornets scored their last two runs for the day in the top of the sixth as Mooney recorded an RBI double and Fitch notched an RBI single to grow the deficit to 10-3.

The Hornets held the Angels off the board in the bottom of the sixth to clinch a seven-run victory.

Fitch pitched the first two innings for the Hornets with two strikeouts, four hits, two walks and three runs allowed for the day.

Tyler Guess pitched one scoreless inning in relief with one strikeout and one hit allowed.

Ashley pitched three scoreless innings to close out the game with one hit and three walks allowed.

With the win, the Hornets improved to 10-1 on the season.

Rockford 6, Hornets 1

The Hornets lost to the Rockford Christian Royal Lions 6-1 at Tullahoma on April 2 in their first game for the Viking Classic.

The Hornets fell behind by a decent margin in the middle innings of the contest and weren’t able to mount a comeback as they took their first loss of the overall season.

Huntland head baseball coach Brent Davis said that a series of errors put his team in a hole that they weren’t able to work out of against a quality opponent.

“I just don’t think they showed up to play,” he said, referring to his players. “(Rockford) outplayed us today. We had some mistakes in the field in the field that are uncharacteristic, and we’ve got to clean those up if we’re going to beat good teams.”

The leadoff batter for the Royal Lions hit a triple in the bottom of the first and was driven home by an RBI single a few batters later to make it a 1-0 game early.

The Hornets got on the board in the top of the third as Guess drew a walk, moved up to second off of an error on a ball hit by Kingston Maxwell, advanced to third on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Jernigan and raced home following a throwing error on a pickoff attempt to tie the score at 1-1.

However, the Royal Lions capitalized on a trio of Huntland errors in the bottom of the third to score four runs in the frame and retake the lead at 5-1.

The Hornets recorded their only two hits for the day in the top of the fourth as Kildoo and Schultz hit consecutive two-out singles, but a flyout then ended the inning and stranded both runners.

The Royal Lions scored one more run in the bottom of the fourth to bring the overall deficit up to 6-1.

The Hornets put a few runners on base in the top of the sixth as Caleb Maxwell got hit by a pitch and Mooney drew a walk, but an infield fly and two strikeouts ended the inning, and the game hit its time limit before the bottom of the sixth could begin as the Hornets lost by five.

Caleb Maxwell pitched the first three innings for the Hornets with six strikeouts, three hits, four walks, one earned run and four unearned runs allowed for the day.

Kildoo pitched two innings in relief with three strikeouts, one hit, one walk and one run allowed.

With the loss, the Hornets moved to 9-1 on the season.

Hornets 17, Skyline 6

The Hornets beat the Skyline Vikings 17-6 at home on March 30 for their ninth win of the season.

The Hornets scored multiple runs in all but one inning of the contest as they steadily pulled away for a blowout victory.

The Vikings were the first team on the board as they scored a trio of runs in the top of the first.

However, the Hornets countered with an eightrun frame in the bottom of the first as Caleb Maxwell hit a two-run single, Kildoo and Schultz each contributed RBI singles, Kingston Maxwell recorded a tworun double, Riley drew a bases-loaded walk, and Ashley hit into a sacrifice fly to give Huntland an early 8-3 advantage.

The Vikings scored two runs in the top of the second to cut into the lead, but the Hornets then scored five more runs in the bottom of the second as Kildoo scored on a passed ball, Jernigan hit a two-run single, Kingston Maxwell raced home as part of a double-steal play with Jernigan, and Riley recorded an RBI double to boost the deficit up to 13-5.

The Hornets brought their lead up to double digits with a four-run fourth inning as Caleb Maxwell notched a two-run double before later scoring off of an error on a ball hit by Schultz and Kildoo hit into an RBI groundout to put the overall tally at 17-5.

The Vikings scored one run off of an error in the top of the fifth, but Fitch struck out the next three batters to end the contest early via the mercy rule as the Hornets won by 11.

Guess pitched the first four innings for the Hornets with six strikeouts, four hits, three walks and five runs allowed.

Fitch pitched one inning in relief with three strikeouts, one hit and one unearned run allowed.

With the win, the Hornets improved to 9-0 on the season.

They next played Monday at home against Richland High School in a game which came after the Herald Chronicle’s press deadline.