SUMMERTOWN, Tenn. – The Cascade Champions (10-5, 2-3) were unable to generate any offense in a pitcher’s duel at Summertown (10-7, 2-1) on Monday in a 1-0 defeat.

The Eagles jumped on Jayden Hathcock in the bottom of the first inning with a pair of singles putting pressure on the Champions’ defense. Then, Aiden Perez came home to score when a breaking ball bounced away from Thomas Demartelaere to score what would be the game’s lone run. Hathcock quickly got out of the inning without any further damage.

Hathcock would pitch a complete 6.0 innings, giving up just the one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out 11 batters on an efficient 95 pitches. 

For Summertown, Jackson Bennett pitched just as masterfully, giving up just two hits with four walks while striking out 10 batters in 6.2 innings of work on 119 pitches.

Cascade left a runner stranded at third with two outs in the top of the second, but the Champions’ true missed opportunity came in the top of the fourth. Thanks to a pair of errors by the Summertown defense, the visitors had runners at first and third with nobody out and looked prime to at least tie the game up at 1-1. Instead, Hathcock struck out, Wickey Parker was thrown out at home on a grounder from Daymien Maldonado for the second out, and then Bennett finally escaped the jam unscathed by striking out River Maddox. 

Despite the missed opportunity, the Champions once again found themselves in a threatening position in the top of the fifth. This time, Cascade managed to load the bases with nobody out following a Demartelaere single, a Caleb Crouch walk, and a Jordan Childress single. However, Cascade was gunned down at the plate while trying to push the issue on a wild pitch, followed by a strikeout and then an inning-ending pop out. 

That would be Cascade’s last real threat of the night, and the Eagles would hang on to win game one of the District 9-AA series by a single run. 

At the plate, Childress finished 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and Demartelaere went 1-for-3. 

Cascade looks to secure a series split in game two at home on Tuesday night with first-pitch set for 6:15 p.m.