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Hinton powers Tigers to Bill O’ Dell Tournament victory over Carl Junction
Carthage, Mo. — After a nearly two-week layoff due to weather postponements, the Nevada Tigers looked sharp in their return to the diamond Tuesday evening — with a decisive 8-4 victory over Carl Junction at the 44th annual Bill O’ Dell Baseball Tournament.
With temperatures hovering in the low-40s, NHS senior standout Braeden Hinton provided a major boost — giving the Tigers six strong innings on the mound. In addition, Hinton torched Carl Junction pitching, finishing 3-for-4 with five RBI.
The top of Nevada’s order did a major damage at the dish, helping the Tigers jump out to a 2-0 first-inning advantage.
Senior Clay Gayman’s two-out RBI single capped Nevada’s two-run first inning.
“The top of our lineup did a great job of getting on base,” said Nevada head coach, Danny Penn. “We were able to do just enough to bring them in. Scoring two runs in the top of the first was really big from a confidence standpoint.”
Nevada then tacked on three more runs in the second, as back-to-back singles from Logan Armstrong and Branden Harder set the table for Hinton.
Hinton, who has already committed to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M University, belted a two-out double into deep right-center field, plating Amrstrong and Harder.
“Braeden looked locked-in at the plate today,” noted Penn. “He did a great job of shooting those pitches on the outer-half to right-center field.”
A run in the top of the fifth put Nevada on top 6-0. Meanwhile, Hinton carried a shutout thought four innings, but then yielded three runs in the fifth, as Carl Junction trimmed its deficit to 6-3.
The Tigers then tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth, increasing their advantage to 8-3, en route to the comfortable victory.
“Braeden looked sharp on the mound,” said Penn. “He was able to work ahead most of the day and attack the strike zone. He was effective pitching inside, especially with the cold weather, and got a lot of early-count outs. Because of the weather and long layoff, we were happy he was able to give us six innings and only throw 68 pitches. And getting Branden (Harder) an inning in the seventh was nice, because it got him back on the mound in a live situation.”
Penn said he was thrilled with the overall team effort, as the Tigers improve to 2-1.
“I was very pleased with our mental performance today,” he said. “Having not played in a long time, there was a chance we could have looked rusty. We were able to get a lot of batting practice done indoors, but our on-field reps have been limited. I was worried that may be an issue, but our infielders did a nice job of always being in the right spots — and, we executed a perfect double-cut relay.”
Penn continued: “While this was our third game of the season, C.J. had already played seven or eight. (Assistant) coach Kyle Talley and I challenged our guys to not let the weather effect us or be an excuse. To the guys’ credit, the weather didn’t seem to be a factor at all.”
On the hill, Hinton (2-0) scattered six hits over six innings of work, while striking out three, and allowing three earned runs.
In addition to Hinton’s monster day at the dish — leadoff hitter Armstrong finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored, while Harder concluded 2-for-4 with a pair of runs out of the two-hole. In addition, Gayman finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Jarrett Owen drove in two runs.
Up next
Pool play continues at the Bill O’ Dell Tournament, as the Tigers square off with Mount Vernon. The first pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m., today, from Carl Lewton Stadium.