Quick work: Catamounts shut out Osborne as they hope to start winning streak in second half of season

Published 12:02 am Wednesday, March 20, 2019

The game lasted less than an hour and a half, but that was all the time Dalton High School needed to defeat Osborne on Tuesday night at home, 6-0.

After facing some of toughest teams in the state early in the season, the Catamounts hope to regain momentum heading into the second half.

“I feel like we’re really going to start clicking here in the second half of the season,” Dalton senior outfielder Jack Ridley said. “I really think we’re going to start winning those close games we’ve let slide away from us.”

Dalton (6-8, 2-5 in Region 6-6A) jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning on Tuesday night, and senior pitcher Justin Ketchem held strong on the mound. Ketchem pitched five innings, allowing four hits, no runs while striking out six. Ben Bramblett relieved Ketchem and pitched the final two innings, allowing no hits and striking out five.

Despite earning the win, Dalton coach Rhett Parrott said his team’s execution at the plate still needs improvement. James Rogers led Dalton offensively, finishing the game 2-for-2 with one RBI. Rhett Hammontree finished 1-for-3 with a double while Kaleb Valdez and Caleb Nix each finished 1-for-2 with one RBI apiece.

“We’ve changed the lineup a little bit, but for the most part we’ve kept it the same and allowed our guys to make adjustments,” Parrot said. “We were making those adjustments well the past three games, but tonight we reverted back to trying to do too much up there.”

Bryce Houghton finished 1-for-2 as well, while Ridley and Brant Bagley finished with one RBI apiece. The Catamounts now begin a stretch of games against teams currently in the middle of the Region 6-6A standings.

Dalton goes for the season sweep over Osborne when they play at 5:55 p.m. on Thursday at Osborne.