Tigers baseball team goes 2-2 in busy week

The Mountain Home Tigers managed a 2-2 split in last week's busy week that saw them play four games.

Jerome 5, Mountain Home 2

The Mountain Home Tigers spotted Jerome four runs last Tuesday and were never able to make them up, as they lost to the Jerome Tigers 5-2 at Jerome.

Trailing 4-0 after three innings, Mountain Home managed to score two runs in the fourth, but could add no more the rest of the way. Jerome pushed across another run in the sixth to make it a 5-2 final.

"We are so close to breaking through," said Mountain Home Tiger baseball coach Mark Cotton after the game.

"Once this team can get the bats going, we are going to be dangerous.

"We are not where we want to be, but we certainly have some positives to build on.

"Jesse Cobos came out for his first outing of the year and threw a complete game," the coach said. "He struggled early, but started to find his groove in the third. That is huge, because we don't have the same depth in pitching that we have had in the past. With the way we play defense and pitch, we are going to be in every game. We just need to be more efficient in executing offensively."

Danny Brescia had two hits for Mountain Home. Jesse Cobos had an RBI double and Teddy Reaume had Mountain Home's other hit.

Jesse Cobos went the distance, limiting Jerome to just five hits in suffering the loss.

Emmett 14, Mountain Home 2

Mountain Home returned to conference action Thursday, hosting the Emmett Huskies, losing in five.

Already leading 5-1 after two innings, the Huskies put the game out of reach with an eight-run third. The game ended after five due to the 10-run rule.

"Baseball is a humbling sport," said Coach Cotton after the Emmett loss. "There are not many positives to take from a game like this. We struggled in every facet of the game.

"I truly don't believe this is who we are as a team. Sometimes games get away from you and you have to move on to the next one. Ultimately, we need to learn from our mistakes and focus our attention on Nampa."

The Huskies only outhit the Tigers 10-7, but only four of Emmett's 14 runs were earned, as the Tigers committed seven errors.

Cody Simpson and Danny Brescia both had two hits for the Tigers. Teddy Reaume had a double and Cody Blakemore had a hit and RBI. Tyler McCall also had a hit for the Tigers.

Cody Simpson, the first of three Tiger pitchers, suffered the loss.

Mountain Home 5, Nampa 4

(9 innings)

Cody Blakemore knocked in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth, and Levi Abrahamson pitched out of a jam in the bottom half of the inning as Mountain Home picked up its first win of the young season, 5-4, Friday night at Rodeo Park in Nampa.

The Tigers put three runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning and never trailed. Nampa tied it at 3-3 with two runs in the third inning.

Mountain Home pulled back ahead with a run in the fifth, but the Bulldogs pushed across a run in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.

Cody Blakemore's hit in the top of the ninth scored Levi Abrahamson, who then pitched out of a jam in the bottom half to preserve the Tiger's first win of the season, 5-4.

"We still aren't where we want to be, but we finally closed the deal on one of these close games," said Coach Cotton after the game. "This was a big win in terms of building confidence. We had some guys really step up for us today.

"Cody Blakemore came through with a clutch hit to win it for us. I am so proud of him and how he has progressed over this last year. Also, Zach Petersen and Levi Abrahamson continue to throw well for us. If we continue to pitch it the way we are, we will be in good shape."

Cody Blakemore had two hits, including a double, and drove in three runs. Levi Abrahamson had a hit and RBI. Cody Simpson, Zach Petersen and Danny Brescia also had hits for the Tigers.

Zach Peterson went six innings on the mound for the Tigers, giving up just one earned run while striking out six batters. Levi Abrahamson had four strikeouts and blanked the Bulldogs on one hit over three innings to pick up the win.

Mountain Home 13, Filer 5

The Tigers closed out a busy week of baseball with a noon game Saturday against the Filer and made it two straight wins, downing the Wildcats 13-5.

A seven-run fourth inning helped Mountain Home pull away for the 13-5 win.

Coach Cotton was pleased with the pitching effort by Jesse Cobos.

"If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that Jesse Cobos would start the year off with two complete games, I wouldn't have believed that, but he is getting better and better. He was great today and I actually think he gets stronger as the game goes on.

"We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times or we probably could have ended that thing sooner than we actually did, but we have a lot of good things to focus on. I thought our bats came alive today. Cody Blakemore staying hot, really hitting the ball well for us, and I think there's a ton of positives to take from today."

Jesse Cobos and Tyler McCall both had two hits. Cobos drove in three runs, McCall two. Cody Blakemore and Cody Simpson both had hits and two RBIs, while Levi Abrahamson and Jaime Martinez also had hits and Teddy Reaume had an RBI.

Jesse Cobos went the distance for the win, striking out six batters and giving up five hits and just one earned run.

The win improved the Tigers to 2-3 on the season. They host Twin Falls Friday in a non-conference game.

"They're always kind of a powerhouse in 4A baseball," said Coach Cotton. "We can't play like we did today if we want to beat them. We're going to have to play flawless baseball to beat Twin Falls, and I think we can."

The Mountain Home News continues its series of looking at the Mountain Home Tiger baseball team.

Jaime Martinez Jr.

Jaime Martinez Jr. is a senior on the Tiger baseball team.

The son of Michelle and Jaime Martinez, he plays first base.

Jaime's hobbies include, "playing pickup games with the amigos, hunting, fishing, mudding and getting dirty."

His goals for the season include "getting a starting position in my first year of playing baseball. Be the leader, not the follower."