Senior right handed pitcher, James Reece, never really settled into a rhythm, but he was effective in shutting out the Cavaliers.  Reece only surrendered two base hits, but did struggle with command, as he walked five Holston batters and had three HBP.  When James throws strikes and gets ahead in the count, he can be very solid on the mound.  The Longhorns continued their nice offensive start to the 2010 season, as they pounded out 11 hits.  Senior centerfielder, Eric Cullop, went 2-3 with a 2B, while driving in three Longhorn runs.  Cullop's double was a screamer that got past the centerfielder in a hurry.  Senior first baseman, Tyler Fenner, continues to settle in offensively, as he went 2-3 on the day.  Third baseman, Sawyer Ward, swung the bat great on Thursday afternoon, but only had one base hit to show for it.  Ward flew out twice, but put two very good swings on the baseball.  He also walked and scored twice on the day.  Mark Jennings only had one hit in three trips to the dish, but his one hit was a three-run line drive bomb, over the left field fence in the bottom of the 3rd.  Zack Hayworth, designated hitter, Danny Herman, and Sammy Hampton, who made a great defensive play after entering the game in right field for Austin Humphrey, also had base knocks.  Humphrey had a 1B before leaving the game with a sore hamstring.  We are currently averaging over 10 runs per game on the season.

There are several ways to analyze our start to the season.  On one hand, other than the trip to Unicoi County, we have not played top notch competition.  But we have did what a good team should do when it plays lesser teams, and that is beat them with ease and not allow them to gain any confidence.  Next week will give us a much better idea of where we stand as a baseball club.  We host the Sullivan East Patriots on Monday.  East dropped down to AA this year, and are looking to go from being a middle of the road team in the Big Nine Conference, to a championship contender in the Three Rivers Conference.  East historically has a strong offensive club.  The Happy Valley Warriors come to town on Tuesday, and although their often thought of more for their antics, they did finish second in the district tournament in 2009 and made a regional tournament appearance.  Their senior pitching staff of Ethan Fleenor, Jake Howell, and Jake Hodge always give them a chance to win, not to mention slugger Jake Miller, who can change the game with one swing of the bat, is still in the Warrior lineup.  We travel to Cannon-Gouge Park on Thursday to play the Warriors again.  This is the makeup game from the opening day wash out.  We feel good about our 3-1 start to the season, and we hope you do too, but this time next week we will know much more about the 2010 Johnson County Longhorn Baseball Club.

God Bless,
Coach Perkins