Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic (KOC) is the proud sponsor of 5Star Preps 2023 Spring Sports Postseason Coverage. The KOC brand has been trusted for more than 70 years and has 3 walk-in clinics to serve you, open six days a week. Hit the logo above to learn more.
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — Seven area baseball teams all played their TSSAA State Tournament openers Tuesday night — at the same start time.
Farragut. Catholic. CAK. Union County. Sweetwater. Greeneville. And, Hardin Valley.
Here’s what happened in those contests…
The Farragut Admirals celebrate with Landis Davila (6) following his home run that tied the game at 4-all. Farragut faced the Independence Eagles in the first round of the TSSAA Class 4A state tournament at Siegel High School on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Farragut won 7-4. (Photo by Danny Parker)
FARRAGUT RALLIES PAST INDEPENDENCE
Falling down 4-0 after two innings didn’t deter the defending 4A champion Admirals.
Farragut (33-8) simply used its power at the plate to flip the momentum.
Jake Merrick smacked a solo homer to start the fourth inning. Brennon Siegler singled in a run, trimming the deficit to 4-2.
But in the fifth, Farragut turned it up even more. Junior outfielder Landis Davila hit a two-run home run, to knot the score. Siegler then hit a two-run single, and Farragut never looked back.
“Came up to the plate knowing I had to get the runner to advance somehow, maybe pass the torch,” Davila said. “I knew the pitcher had been throwing off speed to the goat (Lukas Buckner). Got started off with a change-up and curve ball.
“I had the idea of hitting a home run, but wanted to do a good job. Let God do the rest and made it 4-4.”
Seigler finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs and Davila 1 for 3 with two RBIs, giving Stratton Scott, Braylon Hall and Cole Draper all the run support they needed.
Draper got the save, not allowing a hit in the seventh against Independence (32-11).
Farragut (33-8) plays Clarksville (34-7) at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Siegel. A win would put Farragut in a situation where it’d have to be beaten twice Thursday to not reach the 4A championship. A loss, and Farragut would play a 5 p.m. elimination game Wednesday night.
Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic (KOC) is the proud sponsor of 5Star Preps 2023 Spring Sports Postseason Coverage. The KOC brand has been trusted for more than 70 years and has 3 walk-in clinics to serve you, open six days a week. Hit the logo above to learn more.
UNION COUNTY WINS FIRST-EVER STATE GAME
The Patriots didn’t look like state-tournament rookies on Tuesday. They mercy ruled Adamsville, 13-3, in six innings.
Sure, Adamsville led 3-0 in the early going, but Union County took the lead for good with four runs in the bottom of the third and darted to the Class 2A opening-round win.
Eben Hansen had a two-run single in the fourth to help claim the lead. The Patriots tacked on five more runs in the fifth. Ian Setzer got that going with a two-run single to center. Ty Edds drove in two on a single to left, and Hansen added another RBI in the fifth.
Setzer finished the day 2 for 3 with three RBIs. Edds was 1 for 4 with two RBIs.
Hansen was 2 for 3 with four RBIs.
Union County (29-9) will play White House Heritage (26-7) at 12:30 p.m. Central time on Wednesday. A win would put Union County in the driver’s seat and have to be beaten twice Thursday to not reach the 2A championship. A loss Wednesday would send Union County into a 5 p.m. elimination game.
CATHOLIC WINS DIVISION II-AA OPENER
Ben Sompayrac, a senior at Catholic High School, has been an absolute warrior for the Irish this season and postseason.
The wins he’s notched have come in the biggest of circumstances.
That trend only continued Tuesday night against CPA (27-12).
The right-hander hurled a complete-game, two-hitter and struck out six, as Catholic topped CPA, 2-0, in the Division II-AA bracket.
Catholic managed only five hits against CPA’s 6-foot-4 starter Braxton Orr but got the lead in the fifth. Still, Grant Tallent singled in a run to make it 1-0. A CPA error allowed another run across in the fifth. Tallent finished 2 for 3 on Tuesday.
Sompayrac retired the side in the sixth. CPA got a runner on with two outs in the seventh off a Catholic error.
Sompayrac shut down that threat and ended the game with strikeout.
The Irish take on Lipscomb Academy at 12:30 p.m. Central time in the semifinals. A win would put Catholic (29-9) in the title game Thursday, where they’d have to be beaten twice to not win it all.
GREENEVILLE GETS WIN NO. 33 ON THE SEASON
Brighton had won 15 of 16 games entering the Class 3A opener with Greeneville on Tuesday.
But Greene Devils starter Carson Quillen and reliever Colton Richards kept Brighton in check, limiting them to six hits in a 4-2 victory.
Quillen worked 5.1 innings. Richards allowed just one hit in his 1.2 innings of work.
Kobe Mundy and Eli House each logged an RBI for Greeneville (33-3), which won for the 18th time in its last 19 outings.
Greeneville scored three times in the sixth to take command of the contest.
Greeneville will face Greenbrier (26-11) at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Smyrna High School. The winner will move on to Thursday’s portion of the bracket. The Greeneville-Greenbrier loser will play an elimination game at 5 p.m. Wednesday night.
IN OTHER AREA BASEBALL FINALS
Sweetwater, in its first-ever state tournament game, fell 8-6 to Riverside. For Sweetwater, Tucker Lorenz went 2 for 4. Landon Boyd drove in two runs. Sweetwater (23-13) will play an elimination game at 10 a.m. Wednesday against Cannon County (17-17).
In Division II-A, CAK (27-10) fell behind 5-0 early and couldn’t recover, dropping its tournament opener 12-3 to Northpoint Christian. Wesley Alig went 1 for 2 for CAK while Bennett Rymer had a 1-for-1 day with two RBIs. The Warriors face elimination in a 10 a.m. game Wednesday against Silverdale (34-6). CAK is 1-1 against Silverdale this season.
Hardin Valley, back in the state tournament since winning it all in 2015, dropped a tough 4A opener to Collierville, 2-0. Collierville pitcher Thomas Crabtree had HVA solved, limiting the Hawks (30-6) to three hits in seven innings, fanning 11 against two walks. HVA starter Carson Hoffmeister wasn’t too shabby, either. He pitched a complete game, allowing seven hits in seven innings while striking out nine. He walked two. Collierville went ahead 1-0 in the first on a A.J. Greene homer. Crabtree singled in a run in the seventh. Hardin Valley plays Walker Valley at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Oakland High School in an elimination game.
Coalfield game story in Class 1A, click here.