Diamond Admirals stay alive at Karns
KNOXVILLE --- Farragut and Karns are becoming familiar opponents on the baseball diamond in mid-May in the Region 2-AAA semifinals.
And for the fourth consecutive year, the Admirals have ended the Beavers’ season. The latest installment came Monday night, May 15, as FHS used a fast start en route to defeating Karns 7-3 at Coach Dwight Smith Field.
The Admirals (32-9) tallied four times in the first inning to set the tone.
The win assures FHS of a sectional berth Friday, May 19 — one win from the Class AAA state tourney next week in Murfreesboro — regardless of the outcome at Maryville, after deadline, in the region title game Wednesday, May 17.
Justen Freeman started the offensive explosion for Farragut when he legged out an infield single with one out. Jake Hagenow followed with a single before Parker Noland walked.
Senior left fielder Zach Yunger then delivered a three-run triple to give the Admirals a 3-0 lead. Yunger would later come home on a single by Cade Burkey.
“Last week, we were down the whole week and today, we wanted to remind ourselves that we needed to jump on them early,” Yunger said. “I hope that we can continue to do that no matter who we play.”
FHS took a 6-0 lead in the second when Carson Wright and Ashton King scored when Hagenow reached on an error.
The Beavers, who end the season with a 27-10 record, sliced the Admirals’ lead in half by scoring three runs in the fifth.
Farragut made it 7-3 in the top of the sixth. Jake Grooms led off with a double and was lifted for pinch runner Tanner Corum, who took third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Burkey.
