Tigers 1-1 after facing Granite, Hydro

STERLING – Strong pitching and timely hitting propelled the Sterling Tigers to a 7-0 win over Hydro Tuesday.

Starting pitcher Nate Anderson hurled six innings, allowed two hits, struck out 11 and walked two batters as he earned his first win of the Class A fall season.

Meanwhile, Anderson, Tyler Pierce and Clinton Moore each were 2-for-3 at the plate. Each player was also credited with a stolen base.

“We’re fast,” head coach Brett Holmes said. “Six of our nine starters are really fast, and we take advantage of it. If we get on base with our No. 8 hitter, we’ve got speed for the next five or six batters.”

However, Sterling lost a disappointing season opener as Granite pulled out a 5-4 win after trailing 3-0 heading into the fifth inning. That’s when senior pitcher Jayden Huitt gave up four consecutive hits with Granite scoring five runs to take a 5-3 lead.

Sterling, 1-1, added a run in the seventh, but left the bases loaded to end the game. Overall, Sterling stranded 15 base runners during the matchup.

Huitt “threw it really well and with the numbers he had he should have had a win,” Holmes said. “We played 14 innings (during the two games) and 13 of them are shutout innings. We normally score a lot because we hit it well. We didn’t get the big hits with the bases loaded but that will come. We’ll be just fine.”

Defensively, the Tigers played well minus two errors in the crucial fifth inning which allowed Granite to start its rally.