Pierce no-hitter highlights full day at activity

By Wes Holtsclaw
STAR CORRESPONDENT

   The Carter County American Little League was at its peak Saturday with four matchups.
   T&C Lawn Care ousted Cline Holder with a score of 18-1 in the first game, followed by a tight 4-0 win by Citizens Bank over Elizabethton Federal.
   Expert Express kicked off the late action with a 16-7 victory over Kentucky Fried Chicken, before Summers Taylor knocked off A-1 Auto 17-6.

T&C Lawn Care 18
Cline Holder 1

   A no-hitter and a grand slam summed up the first contest.
   Justin Pierce had an incredible outing on the mound, as his no-hitter with five strikeouts led T&C to a rout of Cline Holder.
   Kendall Wash scored the only run for Cline Holder, advancing for the score in the first inning after being walked.
   Jeff Peters led the way behind the bats for T&C, going three for three with a two-run triple and a destructing grand slam.
   Jared Irick and Knox Erysha backed up Peters. Irick went two for three with a home run and two RBIs, while Erysha had a triple and a run.
   E.J. Newborn, Cory Miller, and Bryant Collins all scored twice for T&C, which continues its lead over the CCAL standings.

Citizens Bank 4
Elizabethton Federal 0

   With a slow start and a lack of production with the bats, all the Citizens Bank team needed was an ace. The ace was Adam Colbaugh.
   Colbaugh threw 13 strikeouts and only allowed one hit pitching, as the Citizens Bank club downed Elizabethton Federal with a low-scoring shutout.
   Colbaugh was also productive at the plate, going two for two with a solo homer to left-center field, and a double.
   Jeremy Hall had an RBI double in the fourth inning, leading to a Jake Hodge RBI single for Citizens.

Expert Express 16
KFC 7

   Expert Express was hitting all cycles yesterday afternoon with a tough 16-7 win over Kentucky Fried Chicken.
   Express was led with a strong effort from Nick Papantoniou, who hit a complete cycle with four RBIs and four runs scored.
   Express was also clicking behind Shane Heaton, who went four of five with a double and two RBIs. Blake Russell and Brit Yelton also went two for four on the day.
   Bruce Crumley and Hedron Hey led KFC with a good hitting game.
   Aaron Bradford took the contest from the mound over Sam Adams, who pitched a complete game with six strikeouts for KFC.
  
Summers Taylor 17
A-1 Auto 6

   Derrick Holder threw 10 strikeouts and allowed two hits during his run as Summers Taylor ousted A-1 Auto 17-6.
   Auto tied the game up in the fourth inning, but couldn't prevent the 10-run fifth inning from Taylor.
   Dustin Arnett helped Summers Taylor get on the board first with an RBI single, but would be matched by a Myla Williams score for A-1 in the third.
   Summers Taylor bounced back as Josh Taylor, Dakota Waters, Lucas Teague, Daniel Jenkins and Amanda Wilson scored in the third, led by a Wesley Keylon triple.
   A-1 bounced back in the fourth as Justin Nave, Jerry Agar, Zack Naylor, Barb Moreland and Caleb Osborne scored on walks and errors to tie the game at six all.
   James Matheson scored for Taylor in the fourth from an errored play, leading to a huge 10-run fifth inning.
   Walks and early hits made this inning for Summers Taylor, which took away the game with a Josh Taylor in-the-park home run with three RBIs to his credit to end the action for the evening.
   The contests were leading up to the big hit-a-thon, which will be taking place next week at the park, along with a full day of activities.
   Contact the American Little League for more information and how you can help.