HIGH SCHOOL

King, Warriors take Game 1 against Siegel

Tom Kreager
tkreager@dnj.com

MURFREESBORO –Dylan King spent much of the early morning hours Tuesday sick with possible food poison.

The Riverdale senior ace showed no signs of sickness on the mound that evening.

King, a Belmont signee, struck out 13 to help the Warriors stay perfect in District 7-AAA play with a 4-2 win over second-place Siegel at Jones Field in the first of a crucial three-game series.

"I just knew I had to throw strikes and let the defense work," said King, who improved to 3-0 on the year. "We had no errors, and they have very good hitters, so I knew I had to keep the ball down."

King's only mistake came in the third inning when he gave up doubles to Colton Gipson and MTSU signee Blake Benefield to allow Siegel to cut Riverdale's early lead to 2-1.

The rest of the game, King looked un-hittable to the Stars, who struck out looking eight times.

"We had several guys that just looked at three pitches and never swung the bat at all," Siegel coach Craig Reavis said. "They thought the ball was off the plate, and didn't adjust. The umpire called it consistent all night, and called it all night long.

"We didn't have anybody step up and make an adjustment."

Riverdale (12-5, 7-0 in 7-AAA) took a 1.5 game lead over Siegel (11-5, 7-3) in the 7-AAA standings thanks to the win. The Stars host Riverdale at 6 p.m. today in the second game of the series. Reavis said it is crucial for the Stars to win the next two games.

"They are must wins for us because we didn't take care of business against Oakland," said Reavis, whose team lost two of three to the Patriots to open the season. "If we have any hope of winning this thing, we've got to win two. Our guys know that."

Riverdale took advantage of a wild Collin Stoecker to open the game, tagging the Notre Dame signee for two runs thanks to back-to-back walks in the first.

King singled in MTSU signee Drew Huff and Brad Woodson's ground out scored Haddon Adams for a 2-0 lead.

Stoecker struggled with his control throughout the game. He struck out nine and gave up four hits, but walked six and hit three batters.

"Three of their four runs were walks," Reavis said. "When he was in the zone, he was good. But you can't play Riverdale and take eight times and give them nine freebies.

"You aren't going to win."

Charlie Fultz extended the lead to 4-1 in the fifth with a two-run home run over the center field fence.

"I was just looking for a ball to square up," Fultz said. "My first two at bats were pretty bad. I was looking for a ball up and got a hold of it."

Siegel trimmed the lead to 4-2 in the sixth when Carson Lester singled, advanced to second on a passed ball before scoring on a two-base wild pitch when King's pitch bounced off the umpire and went high in the air before landing by the back stop.

But that was a big enough lead for King who struck out nine of the final 11 Siegel batters.

"That's his fourth start and they've all been a copycat of each other," Riverdale coach Barry Messer said. "We're thankful tonight that he threw the way he did.

"I thought we battled early and got a couple of runs and got up. But I don't think we played our best baseball game (Tuesday)."

Contact Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168 or tkreager@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kreager.

Riverdale 4, Siegel 2

Siegel 001 001 0 – 2 5 1

Riverdale 2 00 020 x – 4 4 0

Collin Stoecker and Alex Carignan. Dylan King and Garrett League. WP: King (3-0). LP: Stoecker (2-1). HR: Riverdale: Charlie Fultz (3).

DISTRICT 7-AAA STANDINGS

Team

Conf

All

Riverdale

7-0

12-5

Siegel

7-3

11-5

La Vergne

5-5

6-8

Smyrna

4-6

7-6

Oakland

3-4

7-9

Blackman

2-5

8-7

Stewarts Creek

2-7

3-10

Tuesday's Scores

Riverdale 4, Siegel 2

Blackman 2, La Vergne 0

Oakland 8, Smyrna 3