JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Despite having clinched the No. 1 seed in next week’s SCBL tournament, the Tennessee Tornado couldn’t get the best of the Carolina Stingers last night, losing both games of the doubleheader, 2-1 and 1-0.
In Game 1, starter Mark Peterson worked a solid seven innings allowing one run on five hits, while Shane Grimm allowed a run in relief to tie the game at 1-1. After the fifth inning, the game lurched on into extra innings — five to be exact — until Sean Albury’s scoreless streak came to an end at 17 innings. He allowed the winning run to score in the top of the 12th inning, falling to 0-2 on the season, while Stingers reliever Cole Moore held off a Tornado comeback to improve to 2-1.
Game 2 went much the same for Stingers pitching, as Stewart Curry worked six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts to improve his record to 2-1. Kyle Bolton allowed two runs in the fourth inning but the Tornado bats couldn’t come back, dropping Bolton to 4-2 for the year.
In the two games, Tennessee stranded 20 men on base and went a combined 0-22 with runners in scoring position, only amounting to one run all day. The losses drop the Tornado to 26-15, while the Stingers improve to 20-22, possibly putting the teams in position to face one another on Day 1 of the tournament.
While the Stingers’ regular season comes to an end, the Tornado still have a chance to finish on a high note Tuesday as they face Spartanburg at 7 p.m. at Milligan College.
