Raiders stack four more in win column

MCHS chalks up a slugfest, a shutout, a grinder, a comeback; improves to 13-10

8:55 a.m. April 18, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Moore County did not just win four games this week. The Raiders won every kind of game a club needs to win in April.

They outlasted Cornersville in a slugfest Monday, came back Tuesday and threw a shutout, won a one-run game against Warren County on Thursday, then erased a deficit Friday against Culleoka. The result: a 4-0 week, a 13-10 record, and eight wins in their last 10 games.

That is not just a good stretch. That is a team starting to round into form.

Monday: MCHS 11, Cornersville 10

The week opened with a game that looked comfortable right up until it wasn’t.

Moore County built a seven-run lead, then had to hang on for dear life as Cornersville came roaring back late. The Raiders had enough offense to build the cushion and just enough nerve left to keep it.

Ayden Campbell put Cornersville on the board first with an RBI double in the top of the first. Moore County answered in a hurry. Jose Garcia shot a single that scored two, and Jace Deal followed with an RBI double to put the Raiders up 3-1 by the end of the inning.

And Moore County was not close to done.

Jax Ross doubled in the third to stretch the lead to 5-1, and the Raiders kept stacking quality at-bats from there. Moore County finished with 14 hits, with Colton Morey going 3-for-4. Braylynn Hill, Kohlby Williams, and Cole Taylor each had multiple hits, while Garcia, Ross, and Deacon Liles drove in two runs apiece.

The Raiders pushed the issue on the bases too. Morey and Hill each stole multiple bags, and Moore County swiped seven bases as a team.

Then the sixth inning bent the whole night out of shape.

Cornersville scored five runs on four hits and suddenly turned a comfortable Moore County lead into a scramble. Hayden Cherry singled home one. Konnor Calahan ripped a two-run triple. A passed ball brought in another. In a hurry, the Bulldogs had made it a game again.

Morey got the win after working 5 2/3 innings, allowing eight runs, six earned, while striking out seven. Crew Costello collected the save.

It was not neat. It was not relaxing. It was a win.

Tuesday: MCHS 8, Cornersville 0

If Monday was noise, Tuesday was quiet control.

One day after surviving a shootout, Moore County came back and shut out Cornersville, 8-0, behind a complete-game gem from Cole Taylor, who worked all seven innings and struck out 10.

For three innings, neither team got much going. In the fourth, the Raiders broke it open.

Deacon Liles drew a walk that forced in the first run, and Braylynn Hill followed with the swing that gave Moore County room to exhale – a three-run double that cracked the game open. That was plenty for Taylor, who kept Cornersville pinned down the rest of the way.

Ryland Stovall led the offense, going 3-for-4 with a double and two singles. Taylor helped his own cause by stealing two bases, and the Raiders turned a double play behind him.

Cornersville got two hits from Ayden Campbell, but that was about all Taylor allowed them to enjoy. Brady Jones took the loss after giving up six runs, none earned, over five innings.

The Raiders had survived Monday. On Tuesday, they gave Cornersville no window at all.

Thursday: MCHS 3, Warren County 2

Thursday looked nothing like the first two games of the week. Moore County handled that just fine, too.

The Raiders edged Warren County, 3-2, in a tight, clean game that turned on a couple of swings and a few calm innings on the mound.

Colton Morey was in the middle of most of what Moore County did well. He went 3-for-3, doubled twice, singled once, and kept pressure on Warren County from the first inning on. He also stole two bases.

Ryland Stovall’s sacrifice fly gave Moore County the game’s first run in the opening inning, but Warren County answered in the second. Sam Robinson homered to left, and Gage Walker added an RBI single to put the Pioneers up 2-1.

Moore County did not waste much time answering.

Stovall lined an RBI single in the third to tie it, then came through again in the fifth with another run-scoring single that gave Moore County the lead for good. He drove in two of the Raiders’ three runs and finished 2-for-2.

Deacon Liles gave Moore County four solid innings, allowing two runs, one earned. Then Kohlby Williams took over and shut it down. Williams threw 2 1/3 hitless frames, walked nobody, and picked up the win.

It was not flashy. It was better than flashy. It was the kind of game you win by staying steady longer than the other side.

Friday: MCHS 8, Culleoka 4

On Senior Night, the Raiders closed the week the way hot teams tend to do it: by taking a punch, staying settled, and flipping the game in one inning.

Culleoka jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, getting an RBI single from Conner Williams and a bases-loaded walk from Mason Pearce. Another run crossed in the third after a Moore County error, and the Warriors carried a 3-1 lead into the fifth.

Then the Raiders grabbed the wheel.

Moore County scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth and turned a two-run deficit into a 6-3 lead. The biggest hit came from Ryland Stovall, who lined a two-run single on an 0-2 count to put Moore County in front for good.

One inning earlier, Moore County was chasing the game. One inning later, Culleoka was.

The Raiders finished with 10 hits. Jose Garcia and Colton Morey each had two. Stovall and Jax Ross drove in two runs apiece. Once Moore County grabbed the lead, the pitching made sure it stayed that way.

Gavin Wise got the start as Moore County pieced the game together on the mound. Joseph Graham earned the win with two scoreless innings. Carter Zerhusen gave the Raiders valuable relief work. Garcia picked up the save.

Culleoka got three hits from Coltin Butler and two RBIs from Pearce, but after the fifth, the Warriors were mostly playing uphill.

The Bigger Picture

Some 4-0 weeks look nice on paper and not much more. This one said something.

Moore County won a slugfest Monday. Moore County threw a shutout on Tuesday. Moore County handled a one-run game on Thursday. Moore County came from behind on Friday.

That is not a fluke or a soft patch in the schedule. That is a team showing it can win with its bats, with its arms, with pressure on the bases, and with some composure when things get messy.

The Raiders got production from Stovall and Morey. They got a dominant start from Taylor. They got relief that settled games down and swings that changed them.

At 13-10, Moore County is not just on a little roll. The Raiders are starting to look like a team that is getting hard to shake.

Moore County plays host to Richland at 6 p.m. Monday, then travels to Richland for a 5 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday.