The Commerce baseball Tigers picked up a pair of wins last week as they topped Athens Christian and Athens Academy. That was tempered by a loss to George Walton that saw Commerce slip to third in the region standings.
The Tigers enter play this week, 9-3 in the region and 10-3 overall.
Commerce will host Lakeview Academy on Thursday at 5:30.
The Lions are 4-5 in the region and 6-8 overall. Commerce bested Lakeview 12-11 back on March 11.
Athens Christian
The Tigers started out last week at Athens Christian.
They came away with their fourth straight victory, beating the Eagles 5-3.
Colton Davis picked up the win from the mound. He gave up three hits while striking out 11 in six and one-third innings.
Keenan Lord led the offense, going 2-for-2 with a triple and two RBIs. Davis also drove in one.
George Walton
On Thursday, the Tigers traveled south to Monroe to face George Walton Academy.
The Bulldogs held an early lead, but Commerce made a comeback, powered by a three-run home run by Josh Swistak, a two-run homer by Davis and a solo homer by Chase Barnett that helped cut it to 7-6 in the sixth inning. But the Bulldogs
would pull it out in the end, coming away with the 10-8 victory.
That win moved George Walton past Commerce into second place in the region standings.
Swistak recorded the loss from the mound, striking out six while giving up seven hits in three innings.
Swistak led at the plate, however going 3-for-4 with the three run homer providing three RBIs. Davis went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs, while Barnett homered and Cody Streetman had an RBI.
“We cut it to 7-6 in the sixth inning and made an error and a mental mistake late and just could not recover,” said coach Steve Cotrell. “Ethan Thomas came in and relieved Swistak and pitched great. That was big for the senior to step up, especially since we have not asked him to throw many innings this year. He only gave up one earned run over four innings.”
Athens Academy
It was another trip to Athens Friday as the Tigers faced Athens Academy.
The Spartans had the upper hand as the game entered the sixth inning, but a two-run homer from Thomas gave Commerce the lead for good, as the Tigers held off Athens Academy to win 9-8.
Chase Barnett was the winning pitcher, giving up just two hits and striking out two in three and two-thirds innings.
Thomas went 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs, while Davis had a double and two RBIs.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Commerce News.
