Mountain Home closes out season after four losses

The Mountain Home Tigers baseball season is done.

The Tigers went into the last week of the regular season with their back to the wall as far as making it into the District III 4A Baseball Tournament.

With only eight teams making into the district tourney, the Tigers were ninth but within striking distance of eighth-place Kuna. With four games left, and two of them against top-seeded Bishop Kelly, Mountain Home needed to take at least three, and hope that the Kavemen would drop their final three, the final game of the regular season being against the Tigers.

None of that happened, as the Tigers dropped all four and Kuna won all three, thus ending the season for the Tigers.

Bishop Kelly 16, 11

Mountain Home 2, 1

The Tigers found the hits and runs hard to come by April 28 at Bishop Kelly, as they lost a conference baseball doubleheader to the Knights, 16-2 and 11-1, both games going just five innings.

A 10-run second inning in the first game put the game out of reach, as the Tigers managed just one hit, that by Tyler McCall. Jesse Cobos had an RBI.

Danny Brescia, the first of four Tiger pitchers, suffered the loss.

In the second game, Tigers starter and losing pitcher Jesse Cobos failed to make it out of the first inning as he walked three and gave up four hits, including a grand slam home run, as the Knights took a 6-1 lead after one.

Once again, Mountain Home managed just one hit, a single by Danny Brescia. Cody Blakemore knock in the Tigers only run.

"It was just a bad performance all the way around," said Tigers coach Mark Cotton. "We did not play very well at all."

Wildcats 6, Tigers 5

The Columbia Wildcats rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh inning to down the Tigers 6-5 last week at Tiger Field in Mountain Home.

Both teams scored an unearned run in the second inning and Columbia plated two runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.

With their season on the line, the Tigers came back in the bottom of the third to score four runs and take a 5-3 lead, which held up until the seventh inning.

In the top of the seventh, Tony Barraco led off the inning with a home run to cut the Tiger lead to one.

After a line drive for an out, Mountain Home pitcher Levi Abrahamson gave up a single, then got a fly out for the second out. A double by Zach Penrod tied the game, and Andy Fuss followed with a single to score Penrod and give the Wildcats a 6-5 lead.

Mountain Home got a one-out single by Tyler McCall in the bottom of the seventh and Zach Petersen walked with two out to put the tying and winning runs on base, but Cody Simpson grounded into a fielders choice to end the inning and the game, the Tigers' slim hopes of making the postseason dimming in a 6-5 loss.

"I told the guys after the Bishop Kelly games, that all I ask is that we leave the field feeling we put everything out there, and felt like they did tonight," Coach Cotton said. "I felt like they played a great game."

The coach said he felt Columbia had earned the win.

"We didn't give them anything -- they earned everything that happened in the seventh, so hats off to them," he said.

Cody Blakemore and Zach Petersen both had two hits and drove in two runs. Jesse Cobos had an RBI-double and Teddy Reaume and Tyler McCall also had hits. Levi Abrahamson suffered the loss.

Kuna 8, Mountain Home 3

Mountain Home started well but fell behind and dropped its final game of the season, 8-3, last Thursday night at Tiger Field.

The Tigers put together three runs and four hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-1 lead, but did not get another hit until the seventh inning.

Meanwhile, Kuna scored two in the second and third to take a 5-3 lead and added three more in the fifth.

Mountain Home got the first two batters on base with a walk and a single in the seventh, but the next three batters were retired to make it an 8-3 final.

Despite the fact the Kuna game had no bearing on extending their season, Coach Cotton would have liked to go out with a win.

"I thought we came out with a lot of passion," he said. "We just gave up a lot of free passes, not just on the mound, but defensively... and it caught up with us.

The Tigers managed just five hits off Kuna's Jorge Garcilazo, and just one after the first inning. The Kaveman righthander struck out 12 batters.

Zach Petersen had two of the five hits. Jesse Cobos had a two-run triple, Teddy Reaume had a double and Danny Brescia had the other Tiger hit.

Jesse Cobos pitched into the fourth inning before being relieved by Zach Petersen. Cobos suffered the loss for Mountain Home.

The game marked the end of Mark Cotton's reign as head coach of the Tigers. Cotton, who played baseball for the Tigers himself, has been head coach the last four years, and this marked his 11th year in the program. He has resigned the head coaching position to spend more time with his family.

"It's not easy to walk away from the program. It's been a part of my life for the past 15-16 years, if you include me as a player."

"It'll be good to have a new voice coming to the program and maybe giving the program some new life," he added. "I'll miss it, but I think more than anything, I'll just miss being around these kids."

The Mountain Home News concludes its weekly look at the Mountain Home Tigers baseball team.

Cody Simpson

Cody Simpson is a junior outfielder and pitcher for the Tigers. The son of Lisa and Jim Simpson, he enjoys skateboarding, video games and baseball.

His goals for the season were "to earn a stating position and improve my pitching form and skills." Cody's plans after high school are to "attend college at BSU and get a degree in engineering."

Jace Bennett

Jace Bennett is a freshman second baseman for the Tigers. The son of Aron and Jimmie Bennett, his hobbies include skiing and dirt biking.

His goals for the season were to "get better and go to state." His future goals include college, where he hopes to play baseball.

Hunter Ralphs

Hunter Ralphs is a junior outfielder for the Tigers. The son of Ronnie and Martha Ralphs, he enjoys mountain biking, archery and baseball.

His goals for the season were to "improve my batting and help the team reach state." His future plans include "go to college, earn a degree, and get a job right after college."