BELL BUCKLE — The combination of Jaxon Sheffield on the mound and Walker Craig’s bat was more than enough for the Cascade Champions to snap a three-game skid to start the 2023 season with the convincing 11-1 win over Cornersville on Tuesday night.
Sheffield pitched all five innings for the Champions and gave up just one run on four hits, while striking out nine batters.
With Sheffield keeping the Bulldog batters whiffing at the plate, Walker Craig supplied the bulk of the offense for the Champions with his five RBI, two-home run night.
After Cornersville scored on a RBI double in the top of the first, Chance Brown and Noah McGeary drew back-to-back walks to set the table for a four-run first frame for the Champs.
Sheffield helped his own cause and drove in the first run of the game when he smacked a double to center field.
When Craig, the clean up batter stepped to the plate, he mashed a hit over the center-left field fence to plate two more runs for Cascade.
Courtesy baserunner Tyler Rodgers also scored in the inning on a passed ball.
With a 4-1 lead, Sheffield settled in on the mound and sat down the Bulldogs in order in the second frame.
Cascade got another run across the plate in the second inning when McGeary hammered a double to right, bumping the Champion lead to 5-1.
Following a scoreless third inning, Cascade’s biggest inning of the night came in the fourth.
Brayden Dennison singled to lead off the inning and Brown safely reached via error.
McGeary drove in his second run of the night on a single to right and after Sheffield drew a walk, Craig stepped to the plate and crushed his second homer of the night, this time plating three more runs to give the Champs a 10-1 advantage.
Sheffield drove in the final run of the night in the bottom of the fifth inning on a single to right, scoring Brown.
That RBI single was enough to reach the 10-run rule limit and give the Champs their first win of the 2023 season.
In total, Cascade shelled the Bulldog pitching staff to the tune of 11 hits.
Four Champion batters recorded multi-hit nights, with Brown, McGeary and Craig each connecting on two hits, while Sheffield went 3-for-3 on the night.
McGeary went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs, while Craig went 2-for-2 with five RBIs.

Cornersville 100 00 — 1 4 1
Cascade 410 51 — 11 11 0

Cascade: Chance Brown 2-for-3, Noah McGeary 2-for-3, Jaxon Sheffield 3-for-3, Walker Craig 2-for-2, Logan Pulley 1-for-3, Brayden Dennison 1-for-3.
WP: Sheffield
LP: Schillig