BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Visiting St. Joseph Academy (third in the Florida High School Athletic Association/MaxPreps Class 1A power rankings) scored all of its runs in the first two innings in handing the Union County High School baseball team a 6-3 loss on March 21.
It was the sixth loss in eight games for the Tigers.
Union (9-7) scored its first runs in the third. Devin Diggs, Jake Walker and Erick Lasseter all walked with two outs before Trenton Klein hit a two-run single.
Klein finished 2 for 4, while Diggs went 2 for 3.
Relief pitchers Bo Wilson and Kendall Cater gave up no runs, with Wilson allowing one hit in 2.2 innings and Cater allowing two in three innings. Each had two strikeouts.
On March 14, the Tigers lost 15-7 to visiting Baldwin.
The Class 3A Indians scored nine runs in the second inning and led 10-1 before Union’s Evan Roberts hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth.
Roberts finished with the three RBI, while Foster Smith and Walker each had one RBI.
Jeffrey Brugh batted 3 for 4. He and Walker each hit a double.
Union got a solo home run from Diggs in its follow-up outing, but it was one of just three hits the Tigers managed in an 11-1 loss to Class 4A Dunnellon on March 18 in Lake Butler.
It was the Tigers’ third straight loss, but they ended the streak with a 6-2 win over visiting Trenton on March 20.
Kendall Carter drove in two runs with a third-inning double, while Walker drove in two with a fourth-inning single.
Klein and Lasseter each had one RBI.
Starting pitcher Lasseter gave up two runs and five hits, while striking out five in 6.2 innings.
Union plays Cardinal Newman on Monday, March 24, at 6 p.m. as part of Prospect Select’s High School Classic — a three-day tournament (March 24-26) in Viera. The Tigers play Cypress Bay at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25.
Visit www.play.ps-baseball.com and click on the “High School Spring Classic” link for the tournament schedule and results.
