BELL BUCKLE, Tenn. – The Community Vikings (14-13, 4-4) fended off a furious seventh-inning rally from the Cascade Champions (13-7, 4-4) to take game two of the ‘Battle of Bedford’ District 9-AA series, 3-2, on Wednesday night. 

Cascade loaded the bases following Kaleb Maillet’s exit from the game after reaching the 120-pitch limit, plating one run but ultimately striking out against Logan Reed. 

Maillet kept the Cascade offense at bay the entire night, giving up just two runs, one earned, on three hits and four walks in 6.2 innings of work while striking out eight batters on 120 pitches. He also drew a walk at the plate.

Meanwhile, Jordan Childress got the start for Cascade, keeping the Vikings scoreless in 2.0 innings of work while giving up two hits and one walk to go with one strikeout on 46 pitches. Caleb Crouch came on to start the third inning, keeping Community’s offense off the board until the sixth. In total, Crouch gave up three earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three batters on 67 pitches. Dawson Youngblood and AJ Manus combined to throw the final 1.2 innings, giving up zero hits and zero runs with three walks and two strikeouts on 44 pitches total.

Community threatened in the top of the second inning, loading the bases with one out with Kenneth Armstrong coming to the plate. However, Childress struck out Armstrong before inducing a groundout to the third baseman, Jaxson Milliken, to escape the jam unscathed.

Neither team scored in the third, and then Cascade scratched across the first run of the game on a two-out RBI-single up the middle from Caleb Crouch to drive home Jordan Childress and give the Champs a 1-0 lead.

Both pitchers, Crouch and Maillet, took over for the next couple innings until the top of the sixth. A one-out walk to Maillet from Crouch coincidentally got the rally started for the Vikings, followed by a two-strike double from Dylan Markum to get both runners in scoring position. Then, Josh Powers laced a 1-1 pitch down the left-field line, driving home the tying run for the Vikings.

Josh Powers (3) drove home the first run of the game for Community to start the three-run sixth inning on an RBI-single. Powers finished 1-4 at the plate with a single and a run scored.

David Smith

Next, Isaiah Beech pulled a 2-RBI double into left in a 1-2 count, giving Community a 3-1 lead with just six outs to go for Cascade.

The Champs threatened in the home half with two runners in scoring position with two outs, but Maillet induced a groundout to second to end the inning. 

After Manus worked around a one-out bases-loaded jam to keep the deficit at two runs in the top of the seventh, the Cascade offense was down to its final three outs. Jaxson Milliken led off reaching first base safely after a bouncing ground ball to second base was booted into the air, but Maillet was able to freeze the next batter, Daymian Maldonado, with a full-count fastball that clipped the strike zone. 

Elijah Wesenberg worked a walk to flip the lineup over with just one out, but Maillet again got a called strike-three on a full-count pitch to Childress with a breaking ball that somehow stayed in the bottom of the zone. That was Maillet’s 120th pitch of the night, prompting Vikes’ Head Coach Robbie Davis to make a mandatory pitching change. 

Reed came on in relief, but struggled to find the zone, issuing a five-pitch walk to Xykaiah Dixon to load the bases with two outs. Wickey Parker worked a full-count walk, but not before a wild pitch scored Milliken to cut the lead in half, 3-2. However, Reed settled down just enough to strike out a swinging Thomas Demartelaere in another full count, securing the save and nailing down the game two win to earn a series split.

Both teams close out the week with non-district matchups to get ready for the District 9-AA Tournament that begins at the end of next week beginning Wednesday, April 30th.