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Maynard hurls a no hitter in Sunshine State
maynard
Jacob Dodd photo John Maynard delivers during the Tiger home win over Watertown 7-1 Monday night. Maynard hurled a no-hitter during the team's tournament appearance over Sprin Break in Destin, Fla.

Spring break in the Wilson County tournament and down in the Sunshine State wasn’t very sunny for the Tiger baseball squad as it went 1-6, the bright spot being pitcher John Maynard hurling a no-hitter at the Beach Bash in Destin, Fla., this past week.

Maynard pitched the no-hitter against Northmont which was their first game in the Destin tourney. His arm was the key to the win as DeKalb managed just a single run in the 1-0 pitcher’s duel. He fanned 15 batters on the way to victory, pitching all seven innings in the defensive struggle that saw DeKalb get only two hits, one by Colter Norris and one by Derek Young. Maynard permitted three free passes, walking three to break up a perfect game. Colter Norris plated the only run of the game, scoring in the fifth.

The bright spot served to break up some struggles over spring break in a season that started with a pair of dominant wins. After starting the season 2-0 with a pair of wins over Gordonsville, 6-1, and Cascade, 7-2, the Tigers headed to the Wilson tournament where they lost to Friendship Christian 11-1 and then fell to Station Camp 8-5. Their tourney ended as they fell 3-0 in a defensive battle with Grayson Redmon claiming the only Tiger hit of the day as they were outhit 8-1 by the Athens, Ala., squad.

Things looked up when they arrived in Destin as Maynard pitched his no-hitter; however, that would be their only win on the trip south as they fell the following day to Westerfield Central by a count of 7-3. The Tigers were leading up until the sixth inning when a three-run barrage in the top half of the frame gave Westerfield the lead for good. Their close call came despite being outhit in the contest, 9-1 with Logan Cornelius having the only hit; that hit being a home run that gave the Tigers all three of their runs.

The next day saw an offensive explosion with the Tigers getting 12 hits and 11 runs but still falling short, losing to Wayne by a count of 13-11. Three of the runs came thanks to Logan Cornelius who continued his excellence in Destin with three RBIs and a home run. Skyler Sparks, Lee Randolph and Brady Hughes all batted in two during the game with Randolph also contributing a round-tripper to the effort.

DeKalb held the lead for most of the game which saw them outhit Wayne 12-7. A five-run second and a four-run fourth seemed to leave the Tigers in the driver seat. However, a five-run second of their own joined by a three-run third and fourth left Wayne poised and a two-run fifth proved to be the deciding factor.

The final game of the southern tour proved to be another late loss as they fell to West Clermont 6-5, losing on the final hit of the game despite outhitting their opponents 9-5. Lee Randolph went three-for-four at the plate with an RBI while Derek Young went two-for-three with an RBI.
The Tigers returned home with a scheduled home and away pair with Watertown Monday and Tuesday. They will face a pair of road games later this week, heading to Monterey on April 7 and Smith County on April 9. They return home April 10 for another game with Smith County.