Tigers hand first loss to Red Devils

CHAFFEE — Central senior Joe Uhls picked the perfect time to snap out of his 0-for-the-season slump at the plate.

Uhls singled in his first at-bat, then crushed a three-run homer to dead center, both in the second inning Tuesday, to lead the Tigers to a 16-4 victory over previously undefeated Chaffee.

"I've been struggling," Uhls said. "That's kind of an understatement. It's amazing. I felt great today at the plate. Swinging hard and seeing the ball. A couple games before this I had gotten real close."

Uhls finished 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and four RBIs.

"It was just a team effort," he said. "Everybody was hitting good today. We really didn't have a weakest link today."

Chaffee entered the game 6-0, but it quickly became clear it wasn't the Red Devils' day. Starting pitcher Andrew Dooley walked two in the first inning and allowed two runs. The Tigers added eight runs in the second for a 10-0 lead.

Dooley's defense didn't help the cause, as it committed three errors in the first two innings.

"We were all ready to play, trying to be 7-0," Chaffee senior Josh Steger said. "They just hit the ball pretty good."

Uhls wasn't the only Tigers player to break out of a slump. Alex Shell collected a pair of doubles and drove in three runs.

"I was just swinging good," he said. "I found my swing. I was 0-for-8 the last three games. It's the first hit I've had in about a week. It feels good to get back at it."

The Tigers (4-8, 2-3) have been on the wrong end of close games recently. Potosi beat them by a run Monday, which was their fifth one-run loss this season. Coach Steve Williams said he was pleased with his team's ability to put away Chaffee early Tuesday.

"That's been a bugaboo for us probably the last couple weeks — having chances early in the game, getting a lead, but then having more chances to really put someone in a hole and not taking advantage," Williams said. "Then at the end it's a close game and we've gotten beat. Today we really focused on we have a chance to get somebody in, let's drive him in."

Nick Allen also finished with two hits and three RBIs for the Tigers.

"The last few games we've gotten off to a real good start, then just kind of fell off a little bit," Uhls said. "This game we just kept it going."

Tigers starter Blake Smith went three innings, striking out one and walking three. It was only his second time pitching this season.

Smith benefited from some stellar defense behind him, especially from second baseman Hide Tanaka, who started two double plays. The double plays quelled the Red Devils' rallies in the second and third innings.

"It's pretty frustrating," said Steger, who drove in two runs with a single in the fourth. "We're just trying to do our best out there. You just try to put the ball in play and try to get on base the best you can. You try to come back as best you can."

Dooley, who has pitched well this season for the Red Devils, ended up allowing 13 runs in 2 1/3 innings. He walked three and did not record a strikeout.

"He wasn't putting his breaking balls over for strikes, and he was leaving his fastball up," Shell said. "He was doing everything you're not supposed to do. You know all he can go to is that fastball. That's all you're going to see if he can't get his breaking ball over for strikes."

Steger said the one positive from Tuesday's game is that there's no longer any pressure for the Red Devils to continue their winning streak.

"We'd like to be undefeated, but we just want to come back and get another win," he said. "We got the first loss out of the way."

In the JV game, Central's Jamie Pickle struck out 18 batters and threw a no-hitter in an 18-1 victory.

Central 283 03 — 16 14 0

Chaffee 002 20 — 4 6 4

WP — Blake Smith. LP — Andrew Dooley. 2B — Smith (Ce), Alex Shell 2 (Ce), Hunter Thomason (Ch). 3B — Brooks Osburn (Ce). HR — Joe Uhls (Ce). Multiple hits — Central: Osburn 3-4, Uhls 2-3, Shell 2-4, Nick Allen 3-4, Hide Tanaka 2-3; Chaffee: Thomason 2-2, Josh Steger 2-2. Records — Central 4-8; Chaffee 6-1.