Baseball Recap: Austin Comes Up Short

Austin was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 5-4 heartbreaker at the hands of the Madison County Tigers. The Black Bears were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Tigers apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in February of 2016.

Paxton Branum spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered four earned (and one unearned) runs on nine hits. What's more, he gave up only one walk, the fewest he's had since back in February.

Riley Grigg

Hits (Career)

03/20/25 vs Madison County	2
03/11/25 vs New Hope	1
03/10/25 vs Whitesburg Christian Academy	1
02/22/25 vs Muscle Shoals	1

On the hitting side, Austin saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Riley Grigg, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI. The dominant performance gave Grigg a new career-high in hits.

Austin's loss dropped their record down to 7-13. As for Madison County, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-2 record this season.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Austin will venture away from home to square off against Hazel Green at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Hazel Green's pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so Austin's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Madison County, they are taking a road trip to take on Randolph School at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.