ONE LAST GO — Zach Perkey swings away during his last game as a Silver Knight in the sectional tournament against Magnolia.

Every year when the sectional baseball tournament rolls around, there is a very tall hurdle for Tyler Consolidated. This year was no different.

Once again the Silver Knights were paired opposite of Magnolia and once again the plaque went to the New Martinsville high school as the Blue Eagles swept the series.

That’s not to say Tyler Consolidated didn’t have some opportunities to surprise the Blue Eagles and put themselves in position to win a game.

In the second game at Kidwell, Zack Minger opened up the game three-up and three-down in the first for a strong start.

On the offensive end, the Silver Knights opened the bottom half with a single by Brody Northcraft up the middle. After Cody Laugh struck out, Zach Perkey found the gap between center and right field to put two men on.

Unfortunately the Knights couldn’t capitalize as Minger popped one up in foul territory for the second out and Garrett Amos hit into a 4-3 groundout to end the inning.

The Blue Eagles started to put the pressure on Tyler Consolidated in the next three innings with a combined seven runs in the next, including four in the third. A couple of errors committed by the Silver Knights contributed to the scoring.

Tyler Consolidated, however, was able to get in some offense of their own as Perkey led off the fourth with a double to left field and eventually come around to score. He would score again in the sixth after singling to right center and scoring shortly after.

Minger would get on base after him on a walk and Michael Cochran would also get on base, but another strikeout ended the inning and the game as the Blue Eagles accumulated enough runs to enforce the mercy rule with a 13-2 decision.

In the first game, the Silver Knights’ defense played solid through the first three innings of play despite a two-run homerun in the first.

This time the offense didn’t provide many opportunities as only one hit was recorded. That came by way of Zack Knowlton with a single in the third inning. He would steal second, but couldn’t advance as the next three batters were struck out.

Knowlton was the second and last baserunner of the evening for Tyler Consolidated. The first was Cody Laugh in the second after reaching on an error.

Magnolia’s offense picked up in full motion in the fourth as every player scored in a 13-run inning for the 15-0 final.

The two losses mark the end of the Silver Knights’ season. The finished with a record of 6-16 and look for bigger things to come. They will lose the services of Zach Perkey and Michael Cochran, but will return a vast amount of underclassmen with an abundance of experience.