Tigers must make up ground

After a loss in semifinals, Pigeon Forge played an elimination game on Wednesday news@theheraldnewspapers.com The Pigeon Forge Tigers were tossed to the loser’s bracket of the District 2-AA Tournament at the Carson-Newman College baseball field after losing to the Rutledge Pioneers 4-2 in the semifinal round. However, the Tigers still had a chance Wednesday to play their way back into a meeting with the Pioneers to decide the tournament championship. If Pigeon Forge got past Union County in a midday game on Wednesday, they would in turn play Rutledge again later in the day. The Tigers would have to win three games Wednesday to be crowned tournament champions, including two wins over the red-hot Rutledge club. Should the Tigers get past Union County in the first game on Wednesday, they would then be able to advance to the regional round by virtue of a runner-up finish. Pigeon Forge caught fire at this time a year ago and played its way through the district, region and sectional rounds, and into the state tournament in Memphis where the Tigers made a historical run only to fall one win away from a state title. Pigeon Forge has some ground to make up if it plans to make a similar magical run this year. Rutledge scored a run in the first and two in the third to lead 3-0 going into the fourth inning Tuesday in Jefferson City. Senior standout Tyler Cannon delivered an RBI triple to make the Tigers’ deficit 3-1, and Robbie Watson next hit a sacrifice fly to score Cannon and pull Pigeon Forge within a run. Cannon started and went the distance on the mound, allowing another Rutledge score in the final inning to make it 4-2. Details of the Tigers’ postseason fortunes will be available in the weekend edition of The Smoky Mountain Herald.