Senath-Hornersville baseball squad beats Caruthersville 12-1 in five innings

Photo by Dustin Ward, staff
Senath-Hornersville's Holden Coronado heads to the dugout after taking an at-bat at Caruthersville Monday.

CARUTHERSVILLE - The Senath-Hornersville Lions baseball squad fell behind 1-0 in the first inning but responded with 12 unanswered as it beat the host Caruthersville Tigers 12-1 in five innings Monday.

Photo by Dustin Ward, staff
Caruthersville first baseman Alexander Stricklin eyes a catch in a high school baseball game against Senath-Hornersville Monday afternoon.

It was Tigers' first game of the season and the Lions' first contest since Mar. 22 when it won at Gideon 18-0.

“Today was an excellent day to be back outside,” Senath-Hornersville coach Chris McLain said. “I thought Parker Rhew did a good job on the mound and threw a lot of strikes. He also had a really nice day at the plate. One thing I thought we improved on as the game progressed is understanding the strike zone better. We made some adjustments and got some more baserunners on as the game progressed.”

Photo by Dustin Ward, staff
Caruthersville pitcher Ethan Ludwick fires a pitch at a Senath-Hornersville hitter Monday.

Caruthersville scored its only run when it drew four consecutive one-out walks in the bottom of the first inning. Tristen Hill collected the fourth walk with the bases-loaded to put the Tigers on top 1-0. Senath-Hornersville starting pitcher Parker Rhew avoiding additional damage when he struck out the next two hitters, Kaleb Alley and Jayce Jean, to end the first inning.

Photo by Dustin Ward, staff
Senath-Hornersville's Zander Owens races around the bases Monday at Caruthersville.

Rhew eventually earned a five-inning complete game victory. He struck out 13 and walked six in a 93-pitch performance.

Photo by Dustin Ward, staff
Senath-Hornersville's Parker Rhew delivers a pitch to a Caruthersville hitter Monday.

“He settled down,” McLain said. “He’s going to anchor our staff and the days he pitches we’ve got to come ready to play.”

Senath-Hornersville tied things up at 1-all after Zander Owens drew a two-out walk and Rhew followed with a RBI triple in the top of the third inning.

The Lions, which drew 10 walks on the day, added three runs in the fourth inning and eight more in the fifth frame for its 12-run total.

Owens, Rhew, and Holden Coronado each collected three RBIs for Senath-Hornersville. Rhew finished 4 for 4 with two triples and a double. Coronado’s only hit was a double and Owens drew a team-high three walks.

“Those are the guys in the core of our lineup,” McLain said. “If we are going to put some runs on the board they are going to have to step up and do what they did today.”

Ethan Ludwick pitched the first four innings for Caruthersville. He allowed four earned runs, four hits, struck out five, and walked six.

Marquan Bogan and Jean got the rest of the outs on the mound for the Tigers.

Caruthersville (0-1) hosts Portageville Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Senath-Hornersville (2-2) hosts Holcomb Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., South Pemiscot Thursday at 1 p.m., and Bloomfield Friday at 4:30 p.m.

“We’ve got a busy week,” McLain said. “All those teams will test us. We’ve just got to come out ready to play and play fundamental baseball.”