Ironton falls in opener, 2-1

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, April 1, 2003

LOUISA, Ky. - It was a case of good news/bad news. It was a good effort, just bad results.

The Ironton Fighting Tigers got a solid pitching performance from Matt White, but two crucial errors helped scored two unearned runs as the Lawrence County Bulldogs got away with a 2-1 win Monday.

"We didn't play poorly, but we could have played better," Ironton coach Mark Lewis said.

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"You're never happy with a loss, but this is about as well as you could be after a loss. Lawrence County had seven starters back and they have a nice ball club."

Ironton (0-1) got its only run in the second when Derek Moore singled with one out, stole second, took third on a throwing error, and scored when Greg Mountain grounded out.

The Bulldogs got their two runs without the aid of a hit in the fifth.

With one out, Jason Caudill reached on an error and Chris Pope walked. Josh Preston was safe when his fly ball was dropped and Caudill scored.

After Kyle Barnett drew a two-out walk, Ironton had Pope picked off third base only to let a throwing error allow him to score what proved to be the winning run.

"We made a couple of errors because we rushed ourselves, but I still think we're going to be a good defensive team," Lewis said.

Jeff Parnell was 2-for-2 with a double as he collected half of Ironton's hits. Moore and Kevin Williams each went 1-3.

Lawrence County (1-0) was held to just three singles by White and relievers Williams and Josh Sands.

Kevin Workman, the first of three Lawrence County pitchers, got the win. Bulldog pitchers combined to strike out eight batters.

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Matt White, Kevin Williams (6), Josh Sands (6) and Greg Mountain. Kevin Workman, Jason Caudill (5), Chris Pope (6) and Eric Parker. W-Workman. L-White 0-1 (2-K, 3-W, 3-H, 0-ER). 2B-Ironton: Jeff Parnell. Sac-Ironton: Josh Sands. SB-Ironton: Derek Moore. Hitting-Ironton: Jeff Parnell 2-2, Derek Moore 1-3, Kevin Williams 1-3; Lawrence County: Kevin Workman 1-2, Eric Parker 1-2, Josh Preston 1-3.