Bearden’s season ends
Bearden High School’s baseball team saw its 2016 campaign come to an end Tuesday night.
The second seeded Bulldogs came up on the short end of a 15-10 slugfest against Maryville in an elimination game of the District 4-AAA Tournament at John Heatherly Field at the Ball Park at Farragut.
Bearden (27-11) fell behind 3-0 as the Red Rebels scored single runs in the first three innings.
The Bulldogs, who got two hits each from Brady Duncan and Thomas Wilson, tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Bearden scored seven runs in the fourth but couldn’t stop the fifth-seeded Red Rebels in the seventh inning. Maryville scored five runs in its final at-bat to claim the victory,
Things may have ended on a sour note for the Bulldogs but Bearden got off to a quick start in the postseason.
Duncan opened the district tournament in impressive fashion for BHS Friday night.
The senior went 2-for-3 and blasted a grand slam to help the Bulldogs notch an 11-4 win over William Blount in the opening round of the District 4-AAA Tournament at BHS’s Phil Garner Ballpark.
Duncan, Bearden’s starting catcher against the Governors, said he couldn’t have asked for a better pitch than the one he got on his home run.
“It was 1-0 and we had two outs,” he said. “I got a fastball right down the middle and I got a hold of it and hit a grand slam.
“That was big for us because it’s always nice to win the first game of the district tournament. It was obviously a good win for us because you never know what’s going to happen in these tournaments.
“Everything is different during playoff time.”
The Bulldogs fell behind
2-0 when the seventh-seeded Governors plated a pair of runs in the top of the second innings.
Bearden, however, didn’t trail long as it answered with five runs in the bottom of the frame. The Bulldogs would later all but put things away with three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth.
The Bulldogs boasted a balanced offensive attack. Bearden finished with 12 hits. Paul Underwood went 4-for-4 with a double and three runs batted in. He also scored twice. Nate Adkins had two hits (including a two-run homer) and scored twice. Clark Poynter had three hits, including a double. He scored three runs and knocked in another.
David Beam doubled and stole a base against William Blount.
Bearden coach John Rice was pleased to see his squad prevail in its tournament opener but said the Bulldogs could’ve played better against the Governors.
“We had 12 hits and it’s great to get that first tournament win,” Rice said. “But honestly, we weren’t great but the guys battled.
“Nate had a two-run homer and Brady had a grand slam. Nate had two hits and Clark Poynter had three. We had a good mix of older guys contributing and younger guys stepping up and that was fun to watch.”
Shawn DeAngelo started on the mound for the Bulldogs. He labored through four innings as he surrendered two runs, four hits and two walks. He struck out one.
“Shawn DeAngelo didn’t have his best stuff today but he battled and gave us four innings,” Rice said. “He really battled hard out there for us.”
DeAngelo gave way to Duncan, who gave up two runs (both in the seventh inning), four hits and a walk. He fanned one William Blount hitter en route to picking up a save.
The Bulldogs’ joy was short-lived. Bearden tangled with defending Class AAA State Champion HDistrict 4-AAA Tournament ardin Valley Academy on Saturday and lost to the third-seeded Hawks 4-2.
HVA and the Bulldogs were embroiled in a scoreless game until the Hawks scored a pair of runs in the fourth and added two more in the fifth.
Ryder Green, Hardin Valley’s starting pitcher, clubbed a home run for the Hawks, who later outlasted top-seeded Farragut in a 7-6 thriller Monday night. Drew Parks also homered for the Hawks against the Bulldogs.
Bryson Ford had three hits for Bearden. Duncan went 1-for-2. He walked and scored in the game. Adkins was 1-for-4. Poynter went 0-for-1 but drove in a run while Beam had three walks and scored a run for the Bulldogs.
Bearden mounted a late comeback surge in the bottom of the seventh. The Bulldogs scored two runs off HVA reliever Tyler Thompson, who recorded his second save of the tournament.
The Bulldogs rebounded Monday and eliminated West High with a 6-0 win in a loser’s bracket game at home.
The Rebels and Bearden were locked in a scoreless tie before the Bulldogs scored three runs in the fourth. BHS added a single run in the fifth and polished things off with two more in the sixth.
Brandon Trammell sparked Bearden’s offensive attack. He went 1-for-3 with two runs, a double and a stolen base. He scored twice and drove in a run. Ford had two hits.
Duncan and Underwood each singled and knocked in a run.
Sean Walsh and Underwood combined for a three-hit shutout. Walsh started and went 4 2/3 innings. He surrendered two hits and a walk while striking out three.
Underwood came in to pitch with two out in the fifth. He yielded a walk and a hit and struck out a pair.
