Crushers take Tennessee tournament

 The Corbin Crushers walked through the East Tennessee Summer Classic Saturday and Sunday, winning the Knoxville Tournament.

For catcher Jaxon Stewart it was a day he will never forget. In the first inning of Corbin’s game against the Versailles Lookouts, Stewart hit a three-run homer in his first at bat. Before the inning was over, Stewart was back at the plate where he hit a grand slam, accounting for seven RBI’s in the 10-run inning by the Crushers.

The Crushers had a .500 batting average in the win as Michael May had two hits in the victory and three RBI’s as Corbin owned a 14-4 lead after two innings of play. Corbin won the game in four innings, 15-4.

Cory Ledington, Ethan Wilson, Tanner Barnes, May and Cole Brock had two runs each in the game.

Alec Gambrel got the win for the Crushers, walking three and giving up just four hits. May got the save.

The second game of the day wasn’t as easy as Corbin hit the ball well, but had to hold off Union County, Tn., 4-3.

It was Conner Hicks leading the way for the Crushers, going three-for-three at the plate. He had singles in the first, second and fourth innings.

Hicks led off the game with a single followed by a Ledington base hit before Stewart popped out. Wilson then drove in the two runners to give Corbin a 2-0 lead.

The Devils scored one run in the bottom of the first, but Corbin answered with two more runs in the top of the second. Tyler Emery and Hicks scored for the Crushers to gain a 4-1 lead. Ledington drove in the eventual winning run with a base hit in the inning.

Union County scored once in the bottom of the third and again in the bottom of the fourth to pull within one. The game was called at the end of five because of the time limit.

Brock got the win for the Crushers. He allowed two runs over three innings. He struck out one, walked five and didn’t allow a hit. May came on to get the save and allowed one run on three base hits.

Corbin got the number one seed and met Versailles in the championship game. The Crushers picked up where they left off in the earlier game, scoring with ease.

A bases loaded walk by Drew Carter, a passed ball and a two run single by Emery in the first inning put Corbin ahead 4-0.

A double by Stewart and an error in the second inning allowed Corbin to score two runs for a 6-3 lead. Stewart finished the game with another double in the third inning and two RBI’s in the win.

Ledington got the win for the Crushers. He allowed four runs over four innings. He struck out one, walked four and scattered seven hits.

“The kids were excited to win their first tournament of the season,” Corbin Coach Gary Helton said. “We hope this gives them some momentum going into the Junior League Tournament this week.”

Corbin will host the District Four Junior League Tournament with the winner advancing to the Kentucky Junior League State Tournament. The action begins at Don House Field Thursday when Corbin takes on South London at 6 p.m., followed by Middlesboro and North Laurel at 8 p.m.

Friday, Hazard will play McCreary County at 6 p.m. with Harlan and Tri-City playing each other at 8 p.m.

The winners’ bracket semifinals will be played Sunday at 5 and 7 p.m. The losers’ bracket begins Saturday with games scheduled for 5 and 7 p.m. The championship is set for Thursday, July 12 at 7 p.m.