Tigers never knew what hit them

Mohawk senior Trent Edwards makes the throw to first to get a Valley Springs runner out in action Friday at the regional in Tuckerman. Edwards is the only senior on the squad this year for coaches Shawn Hearn and Alan Rabjohn.

The Tribe pounced on the Tigers by way of a Colby Lovelace homerun in the first, and that proved to be enough, as they cruised 17-1.

Perhaps looking past the fourth-seeded Mohawks, the Tigers had saved their ace pitcher for a later start. After two switched, and trailing 6-0, they looked to their top man--and he either couldn't find the strike zone or Mohawks were blasting hits.

That was the final straw, and it became obvious that the Tigers were thinking about the long bus ride home as the Tribe rolled them by way of the mercy rule in five innings.

I had seen the Valley Springs basketball team, and fans, in the regional at Bergman several years ago--and later in covering EPC and Manila in the state tournament at Harrison.

Their fans are loud and proud, and they had these cool green and white basketball net hats. It was clear that the fans were used to cheering long and loud, and they helped propel the Tigers to severl wins.

But Friday afternoon there was only a handful of Valley Springs fans, not near enough to cause that kind of emotional surge. Face it, when a fan cheers as part of a crowd at a basketball game it all blends together into a roar. At a baseball game players can tell who is doing the yelling, and that can be distracting.

I also wanted to apologize to the Mohawk baseball team of 1987, that won the district tournament. I had stated in a previous article on the 1980 team that no other Mohawk team had won the tournament since, and I stand corrected.

Shawn Parker, a member of that team, pointed it out and it was verified by former Clay County Central Cougar Dave Hendrix--whose team was eliminated from said district tournament that year.