In a display of dominant offense, the Dawson County Tigers mercy-ruled Union County on Friday, March 5 with a final score of 16-5 in five innings.

In the bottom of the second inning, the Tigers strung together eight runs after letting in four runs in the top half of the inning. Both Nick Mullinax and Carter Turkett hit three-run home runs in the innings, propelling the offense forward. 

“We’ve been swinging the bats well and I think we’ll continue to do that,” Tigers head coach Dwayne Sapp said after the game. “As long as we keep taking advantage of the opportunities that the other teams give us, we’ll be golden.” 

Mullinax pitched the first two innings and Jacob Poss pitched in relief. After Poss started his tenure on the mound with a hit and a walk, assistant coach Logan Burt took a mound visit to help settle him down. Poss went on to pitch the rest of the game, not allowing another hit and striking out the side in his final inning to bring his total to six strikeouts in three innings.

“Confidence is so key for any pitcher,” Sapp said. “[Poss] is just throwing with some crazy confidence right now.” 

Aside from the two home runs, the Tigers recorded only two more hits in the game. Brandon Kramer smacked a double off of the wall to lead off the fourth inning and Luke Mulberry got a single up the middle of the infield during the second inning. 

The rest of the Tigers’ runs came off of drawing walks and Union County wild pitches. The Tigers took 14 walks in the game, averaging almost three per inning. All nine batters in the Tigers starting lineup drew a walk in the game or were hit by a pitch. 

“This is a really good region we play in,” Sapp said. “As long as we keep finding the strike zone on the mound, I think we’ll give ourselves a good chance to compete.” 

Dawson County kicks off their region schedule against West Hall (7-3) on Monday, March 8 at home.