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Straughn took an early five-run lead and made it stand for a 7-2 baseball win at Opp on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

The Tigers pushed their season record to 3-1, and the Bobcats dropped to 1-5 on the year.

Neither team scored in the opening inning as Ryan Cobb tallied two strikeouts in the bottom half. Emory Melvin led off the top of the second with a double and scored the first run on an RBI single by Matt Ashberry. Layne Grantham singled through the left side and drove home Clark Gay. Kaden Wiggins cashed in Taylor Sikes with a single to right. Eli Guilford knocked a two-run double as Saxby Radford and Wiggins scored and gave SHS a 5-0 lead. Landon Langley reached on a dropped third strike, and Grady Patterson walked with two outs. Cobb held OHS in check when Ethan Morgan grounded out to second.

Ashberry and Gay increased the margin to 7-0 with back-to-back RBI doubles in the visiting third. Cobb struck out the side on 16 pitches in the home half. Guilford had a two-out double in the top of the fourth before Nelson Hall rallied back and struck out Zayd Rogers. John Helms and Cash Harrell both reached on hit-by-pitches, but Cobb preserved the shutout with a pop-up and consecutive strikeouts. Each side put two runners aboard in the fifth, as the score remained 7-0.

Rogers singled with two away in the sixth for Straughn, and Radford moved to third on an error. Nolan Brown thwarted the threat with a strikeout before Opp dented the scoreboard with two runs in the bottom half. Harrell started the frame with a double to center and crossed the plate on an RBI double by Langley. Riley Day then singled and set up a sacrifice fly from Patterson. Morgan walked before Jase Stanley loaded the bases with a bunt single. Gay snuffed the rally with two strikeouts for the final 7-2 margin.

Ashberry went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Guilford, Sikes, and Grantham all finished 2-for-4 for the Tigers. Cobb earned the win with five shutout innings and did not allow a hit. The junior struck out 11 and walked two. Colby Ballard finished 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored for the Bobcats. Porter Nelson was 1-for-4 with a double, RBI, and run scored. Hall gave up five earned runs in four innings and struck out five.

SHS returns to play Tuesday, March 7, with a home matchup against Monroe County at 5 p.m. OHS travels to Troy for the Terry Sikes Memorial Tournament and meets Marbury on Wednesday, March 8, at 4:45 p.m.