Mark Mains came back well rested.

Wednesday, April 25, 2001

Mark Mains came back well rested. It didn’t take long for him to get tired again.

After missing more than a week due to family matters, Mains returned to the Ironton lineup Tuesday and pitched four innings of two-hit baseball and legged out a pair of triples as the Fighting Tigers downed the Rock Hill Redmen 19-2 in five innings.

Mains struck out six, walked five, and gave up an earned run to improve his record to 3-2. At the plate he went 2-for-4 with two triples and three runs batted in.

"I felt strong, but my control was a little off because I haven’t been able to throw for a while," said Mains. "I hurt my back last week and for a couple of days I couldn’t do anything."

Mains got plenty of support from his teammates, especially his cousin Drew Mains who went 3-for-3 with a triple, a home run, four runs scored and two RBI.

Chuck Murnahan was 2-for-3, Tyler Whaley 1-for-2 with three RBI, Greg Mountain 1-1 and two RBI, and Matt Spears 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.

"We hit the ball well and Mark pitched pretty well. He didn’t have his best stuff, but I think that was due to the long layoff," Ironton coach Mark Lewis said.

Ironton (9-8) scored five runs in the first.

Drew Mains tripled and Josh Harmon hit a sacrifice fly. Chad Parker and Mountain walked, White was hit by a pitch, Murnahan had an RBI single, and Whaley cleared the bases with a three-run double.

The lead went to 9-0 in the second.

Drew Mains was hit by a pitch, Harmon and Parker walked, and Mountain hit a sacrifice fly. Parker scored on a wild pitch.

White singled, Murnahan walked, and Mark Mains had a two-run triple.

Rock Hill got a run in the third when Matt Coffee walked to start the inning and Nathan Litteral doubled into the gap.

But Ironton came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning.

Drew Mains singled, went to third on an outfield error, and scored on a wild pitch. Parker singled, Mountain walked, and White hit into a force out at second, but the relay throw was wild and Parker scored.

The Fighting Tigers put the game out of reach in the fourth with seven more runs.

With one out, Whaley reached on an error and scored on a double by Spears. Drew Mains then clubbed a two-run homer.

"That ball got out in a hurry," said Lewis.

Harmon walked, Parker was safe on an error, and Mountain singled in a run. White reached on a fielder’s choice as a run scored, and Murnahan had an RBI double. Mark Mains tripled to score Murnahan,Nick Collins was hit by a pitch, and Spears single in the final run.

The Redmen didn’t quit without a fight as they scored a run in the fifth.

Litteral and Kyle Lewis walked and David Malone had a run-scoring single. But reliever Sean McClellan struck out the next batter to end the game.

Ironton will play at Ashland, Ky., at 7 p.m. Thursday. Rock Hill hosts Coal Grove Thursday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

Rock Hill 001 01 – 2 3 4

Ironton 542 7x – 19 13 0

Jeff Crabtree, Shawn Primm (2), Matt Barnard (4) and David Martin. Mark Mains, Sean McClellan (5) and Matt White. W-Mains (2-H, 6-K, 5-W, 1-ER). L-Crabtree (2-K, 5-W, 5-H). WP-Crabtree 2, Primm. Balk-Crabtree. HBP-by Crabtree 2 (Matt White, Drew Mains), by Barnard 2 (Nick Collins, Drew Mains). SB-Rock Hill: Matt Coffee; Ironton: Drew Mains. LOB-Rock Hill 9, Ironton 7. 2B-Rock Hill: Nathan Litteral; Ironton: Tyler Whaley, Matt Spears, Chuck Murnahan. 3B-Ironton: Drew Mains, Mark Mains 2. HR-Ironton: Drew Mains. SF-Ironton: Josh Harmon, Greg Mountain. Hitting-Rock Hill: Nathan Litteral 1-1 (RBI), David Malone 1-2, Sam Lewis 1-3; Ironton: Drew Mains 3-3 (4-R, 2 RBI), Chad Parker 1-2 (4-R), Greg Mountain 1-1 (2 RBI), Matt White 1-3 (3-R), Chuck Murnahan 2-3 (RBI), Mark Mains 2-4 (3 RBI), Tyler Whaley 1-2 (3 RBI), Matt Spears 2-4 (2 RBI).