Smiths Station falls to Auburn despite strong pitching effort

The pitching was there for Smiths Station on Wednesday in its area opener at home against Auburn.

Max Newton pitched a complete game and allowed just two runs, neither of which were earned. The problem for the Panthers was that the hitting couldn’t reciprocate, mustering just three hits over the course of seven innings, as the team fell 2-0.

“It’s real frustrating,” coach Mike Ferry said after the game. “It seems like that happens to Max a lot. I don’t know if our guys get too comfortable because he’s pitching, or what.”

Ferry gave much-deserved credit to Auburn starting pitcher Drew Jennings, who pitched the complete-game shutout, noting how well he mixed it up and kept his hitters off balance. At the same time, Ferry thought his team brought a less-than-effective approach to the plate throughout the game.

The Panthers hit at least nine balls in the air that would be considered “lazy.” By contrast, they hit only two singles and one double, the latter of which should have been a single that Tripp Jones was able to leg out an extra base for.

Only twice did Smiths Station get a runner to second base in the game, neither advancing any further than that. After Hunter Woodall sacrificed Garrett Barr to second base in the fifth, Dalton Sinquefield popped up to shortstop and Devin Brown grounded to first base.

The Panthers came closest to scoring in the sixth. After leading off the inning with back-to-back soft fly balls to center, Jones knocked a two-out double and was nearly driven in on a soft flare by Tim McGonegle. Instead, Auburn’s Rowdy Jordan speared the ball over his left shoulder to end the inning.

“A lot of times, hitters get themselves out,” Ferry said of his team’s approach. “They swing at pitches out of the zone, pop up when they’re ahead in the count. Don’t get me wrong, (Jennings) did a great job, but we just hit it in the air way too much. We’ve got to make them make a play.”

He also lamented the defensive errors that led to both Tigers’ runs. After allowing an unearned run in the second, Smiths Station dug itself a deeper hole in the top of the sixth. An error to lead off the inning put a runner at first, and another error on a failed pickoff attempt moved him to second. Newton struck out the next batter and the Panthers had a chance to get the lead runner for the second out on an ensuing ground ball, but failed to make the play. Brown got into a run-down on a ground ball to third base, but made it safely back to second to put runners at first and second with just one out. Austin Triplett drove in the team’s second run on the next at-bat.

“I feel strongly that if we make the plays we should have made, Max would be going out there to pitch the eighth inning in a 0-0 tie right now,” Ferry said.

The loss dropped Smiths Station to 0-1 in area play, but it isn’t an unfamiliar position as it was swept by Auburn last year in their season series before battling back to make the playoffs and, eventually, win the Class 7A state championship. Ferry said it makes a coach more comfortable when they get a strong start, but it’s more important now to put the game behind them and get back to work.

“There are three great teams who could all be in the playoffs out of this region,” Ferry said. “Losing puts a little pressure on us, but we just need to come back to work tomorrow. Tomorrow is big. We’ve got to get the bats going. Hitting is contagious, both good and bad. We just need to get sick with good hitting.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Smiths Station falls to Auburn despite strong pitching effort."