The Fire participated in the Murray, KY Freedom Fest Invitational the weekend of July 12-14 and split the four games they played. In game one the Fire made seven errors in the field and lost to the Chattanooga Timberwolves by the score of 7-2. Mark Barnett(2-3) was the leading hitter for the Fire. Alan Baker had a triple and Adam Yates added a double. The Fire won the second game by the score of 5-3 over the Dyersburg Trojans. Trailing 2-0 with one out in the fifth Rob Tabor dropped down a perfect bunt with runners at the corners to score the first of three runs to put the Fire on top. Then in the seventh with the score tied at three Tabor slapped a single to right that started a two run rally to win the game. Cody Ridgeway started and allowed two runs on four hits over the first four innings. Dusty Cox got the win, striking out five in two innings of relief. The leading hitter for the Fire was again Barnett(2-4). Barnett, Cox, and Yates all had doubles in the game and Baker threw out two runners attempting to steal. In game three the Fire out hit the Murray Heat 11-4 but came up on the short end of an 8-6 score. The leading hitters were Baker(2-3), Raleigh Todd(2-3), and Barnett(2-4). Barnett, Todd, and Jonathan Stewart all had doubles in the game and Baker added a triple. In the final game the Fire banged out twelve hits including four HRs to defeat the St. Louis Pirates by the score of 14-3. The leading hitters were Barnett(3-3, 3 RBIs), Cox(2-2, 2 HR, 4 RBIs), Dustin Stovall(2-2, HR, 2 RBIs), and Yates(Grand Slam).
On July 3 the Fire hosted the McNairy Co. All-Stars in a double-header and came away with victories in both games. In the opener the Fire collected five extra-base hits on the way to a 7-4 win. Russ DeLoach went the distance for his fourth win against no defeats. Adam Yates was the leading hitter with a pair of triples. Blake King and Mark Aldridge also had triples and Ben Davis added a double. In the second game the Fire took advantage of seven McNairy Co. errors and cruised to a 9-4 victory. Davis earned his fifth win against one loss. Dustin Stovall and Mark Barnett each had a double to lead the offense.
Over the weekend of June 21-23 the Fire participated in the Dyersburg Baseball Tournament. The team dropped three of four games with two of the losses coming at the hands of sixteen year-old teams. In the first game the Fire failed to mount any offense and lost to the St. Louis Raiders 16s by the score of 9-1. The next day the team bounced back to beat the Dyersburg All-Stars by a score of 15-2. Russ DeLoach went the distance for the win allowing no earned runs over six innings. The leading hitters, each with a single and an extra-base hit were DeLoach, Jonathan Stewart, and Raleigh Todd. Later that evening the Fire allowed 8 unearned runs and lost a tough decision to the St. Louis Raiders 14s by a score of 9-4. Todd and Mark Aldridge each had two base hits for the Fire. On the last day of the tournament the Fire was demolished by a 16 year-old Franklin Knights club on a score of 14-4. Todd and Blake King each had two base hits for the Fire.
On June 18 the Fire swept a doubleheader with the Dyersburg Trojans behind some superb pitching. Dustin Stovall threw a no-hitter in the opener as the Fire won 12-0. Stovall allowed only one baserunner on a walk and struck out 10 for his first victory on the season. The leading hitters were Jonathan Stewart with a pair of singles and Mark Aldridge with a single and a double. In the second game Cody Ridgeway and Mark Barnett combined on a two hit shutout as the Fire won 2-0. Ridgeway pitched the first three innings and struck out 5 while walking two. Barnett, making his first appearance of the season, struck out 4 and allowed two hits to earn the save.
The Fire won the championship of the Covington Father's Day Invitational the weekend of June 15-17. In the first game the team came out flat and lost to the Arkansas Bears by the score of 8-2. In game two the Fire bounced back with a come from behind win over the Covington Travelers on a score of 9-5. Adam Yates got the win in relief as the Fire took advantage of six Covington errors in the last two innings. Mark Aldridge was the leading hitter for the Fire with a single and a triple. Mark Barnett also added a triple. The Fire won game three by a score of 12-2 over the Denim Springs White Sox. Aldridge went the distance for his fourth win by scattering five hits, walking one, and striking out three. Barnett and Blake King were both 3-3 with a double and Ben Davis had a single, a triple, and 3 RBIs. In a rematch with the Arkansas Bears the Fire won the tournament championship by the score of 7-6. The team jumped out to a 7-0 lead behind a strong pitching performance by Yates. He carried a no-hitter into the fourth when a pair of costly errors allowed the Bears to rally for five runs. Davis was credited with the save. The big hits came from Alan Baker when he lined a single to center that drove in three runs in the third and King's GWRBI in the fourth.
On June 4 the Fire ran their record to 16-5 by sweeping a double-header from the Jackson Jets. In the opener the Fire held a 16-3 lead going into the final inning and held on to win by a score of 16-11. Russ DeLoach started and pitched 4+ innings for the victory. The leading hitter was Mark Barnett with three base hits, four runs, and two RBIs. Others with at least two hits were Mark Aldridge, Dusty Cox, and DeLoach. In the nightcap the Fire won 16-3 behind a strong pitching performance by Cody Ridgeway. Ridgeway went the distance allowing no earned runs on just one base hit. Aldridge and Alan Baker each had a single and a double in four trips and Dustin Stovall added two base hits.
The Fire took a pair of close decisions from the Paris Thunder on June 1 by scores of 4-2 and 7-6. In the opener Ben Davis pitched five innings for the victory, allowing two runs on five base hits. Mark Aldridge threw two innings of scoreless relief for the save. Four consecutive base hits in the fourth were the difference for the Fire as they scored three times. Dusty Cox was the leading hitter with 2 hits and 3 RBIs. In the second game the Fire scored an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth for the win. Russ DeLoach pitched four strong innings of relief for the win as he allowed only one unearned run on no hits, two walks, and one strikeout. The leading hitter was Alan Baker with three base hits and two RBIs.
The Fire advanced to the championship round of the Germantown Memorial Day Extravaganza the weekend of May 24-26. In the opening game the Fire nipped Dyersburg 8-7 in a see-saw battle when they scored an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth. Ben Davis picked up the win in relief. Adam Yates and Dusty Cox each had a single, a double, and two RBIs to lead the offense. In the second game the Fire scored four runs in the second and held on to beat the Covington Travelers 4-2. Yates went the distance for the victory. He allowed only one earned run on 4 hits while striking out four and walking three. Mark Barnett had a pair of hits and Cox added a two-run homer. In their third game of the tournament the Fire lost to the Memphis White Sox by a score of 8-5. Cox continued his hot hitting with a pair of singles. As runner-up in their division they advanced to the championship round only to lose a heart-breaker to the Germantown Giants 4-3. Trailing 4-0 after three innings the team rallied with three runs in the fourth on a two-run homer by Davis and an RBI single by Mark Aldridge. Then in the fifth and final inning they had the winning runs on base when the Giants shortstop turned the double play to end the game.
The Fire finished runner-up in the Covington Classic the weekend of May 17-19. In the opening game Cody Ridgeway and Russ DeLoach combined for the no-hitter as the Fire won 7-0 over the Covington Wildcats. Blake King and Raleigh Todd each had two hits to lead the offense and the Fire took advantage of six Wildcat errors. The team continued its excellent pitching and timely hitting the next day as they added two more wins to advance to the championship round. In the first game Mark Barnett was the only Fire player to get more than one hit. The team bunched five of their eight hits into the second inning to beat the West Memphis Blue Jays 9-4. Dusty Cox started and took the win by striking out five of the seven batters he faced before giving way to Dustin Stovall. In the second game against the Munford Vols the Fire bats came alive as they won handily 15-3. Adam Yates threw three strong innings for the win, striking out eight and walking none. King and Yates each had a single and a triple while Todd added a pair of hits. On the final day Mark Aldridge and DeLoach combined for a short three inning no-hitter as the Fire won their semi-final game 10-0 over the Chesterfield Reds. The Fire scored five times in the first on only one hit, a two run inside-the-park HR by King. Yates added two more runs on a massive HR off the scoreboard in left and Barnett finished the scoring with a three run inside-the-park HR in the third after tripling in the second. In the championship game the Fire took a tough 4-3 loss at the hands of the Covington Travelers. Cox gave up only two earned runs on six hits over 5+ innings. The Fire made a game of it in the final inning as Yates drove the ball to the gap in right for a triple with one away. Alan Baker then lined a 0-1 pitch over the shortstop's outstreched glove to close within one run. Baker then stole second but was left standed as the Covington pitcher recorded the final two outs on strikes.
The Fire suffered their first losses of the season on May 4 when they dropped both ends of a double-header by scores of 9-3 and 4-2. Their opponent was a team made up of Humboldt HS Junior Varsity players. The team bounced back the following week by winning two from the Jackson Jets on May 9. In the opener Ben Davis and Dusty Cox combined for a 2-hitter as the Fire won 6-2. Russ DeLoach had three hits including a double and Blake King had three RBIs on a single and a double. The second game was called after four innings with the Fire up by a score of 23-5. Adam Yates led the barrage of offense with a pair of HRs, two singles, and six RBIs. King continued his hot hitting by going 4-5 with three doubles and four RBIs. Cox went 3-3 and contributed three RBIs. Others with at least two hits were Cody Ridgeway, Alan Baker, and Jonathan Stewart.
The Fire swept a doubleheader against the Jackson Bulldogs on May 1 behind a balanced hitting attack. Ben Davis, Adam Yates, Raleigh Todd, Mark Aldridge, Dusty Cox, and Blake King all had two hits in the first game. David Howard pitched three shutout innings to earn the victory as the fire won 17-1. In game two the fire scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth for an 11-5 come from behind win. Cody Ridgeway had two triples, Cox added a triple and a double, and Aldridge had two hits. Alan Baker and King had triples also and Yates added a double. Aldridge picked up the win with two innings of hitless relief.
The Fire opened their season on April 14, with a pair of wins over Dyersburg. In the opener Adam Yates and Ben Davis combined for the shutout as the Fire won 12-0 and Cody Ridgeway had a bases-loaded double in the top of seventh in a come from behind 15-13 victory in the second game. Davis, Blake King, Ridgeway, and Raleigh Todd each had four hits for the day. In addition, Dusty Cox and Todd knocked in five runs apiece.
Your comments are welcome. Last updated on July 15, 1996.