Cravens, Commanders cruise to 6th straight win

WESTMORELAND — Brian Cravens held Westmoreland to four hits Thursday as Friendship Christian cruised to a 10-1 District 8-A conquest.
The right-hander [5-1] walked three and struck out 12 as the Commanders won their sixth straight to improve to 14-10 for the season and 8-0 in the district. They are unbeaten against Class A teams, losing to AAA, one AA and four 5A schools in Florida.
"We're in a little groove right now, which you want to be in as you get closer and closer to the district tournament," said Friendship assistant coach Jody Atwood, whose Commanders travel to Nashville tonight for a 7 p.m. first pitch against Class AAA McGavock.
Friendship finished with nine hits and took advantage of eight errors.
Jon Miller singled up the middle to drive in two runs for a 3-0 lead in the third inning. G.L. Waynick whacked a three-run homer into a 15-mph wind an inning later as the Commanders built a 7-0 advantage.
Bryant Alsup and Lee Maasen managed two hits apiece at the top of the lineup.

Bears' Murphy allows one hit, but loses to Riverdale 3-2
MT. JULIET — Mt. Juliet was a triple lost in the lights away from a no-hitter last night. But the Golden Bears ended up losing to Riverdale 3-2.
The Warriors drew two walks in the ninth to chase starter Dustin Murphy with one out in the seventh. Will Skinner's sacrifice fly gave Riverdale a 2-1 lead and a passed ball made it 3-1.
Ryan Overstreet, who singled and scored the tying run for Mt. Juliet in the fourth inning, hit a drive which Mt. Juliet coach Mark Purvis thought was going out in the seventh but was caught against the wall. Josh Cotham, who singled, scored on an error in the seventh but the Bears were left a run short in falling to 17-9.
Murphy struck out six and walked four in 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was a third-inning triple by Skinner which was lost in the lights. Skinner scored on Chad Hunter's groundout for a 1-0 Riverdale lead.
Devin Dillard singled home Overstreet with the tying run in the Mt. Juliet fourth. Taylor Hill also singled.
Riverdale returned to Murfreesboro with a 19-11 record.
Mt. Juliet will go to the Chattanooga area today for the Soddy-Daisy Classic. The Golden Bears will face Ooltewah at 5:30 p.m. CDT and Rhea County at 7:45 tonight. They'll come back Saturday to take on Marion County at 11:30 a.m. and Red Bank at 7 p.m.

Saints succumb to Gordonsville
MT. JULIET — Gordonsville pieced together a 15-hit parade Thursday as the Tigers took a 9-2 triumph over Mt. Juliet Christian.
The Tigers did all their damage against Codye Sullivan, who walked two and struck out four in seven innings as the Saints slipped to 4-7 for the season and 1-6 in District 8-A.
Todd Holloway and Phillip Harnage scored the Saints' runs in the second inning as Mt. Juliet Christian climbed into a 2-2 tie.
Sullivan and Jonathan Roberts each racked up two hits while Holloway and Harnage had one apiece.
Mt. Juliet Christian will host East Literature at 3:30 p.m. today for a double header.