‘King’-sized blast, ace in form break ice
Diamond Ads reach state after road shutout
Sixteen Farragut seniors will lead the way as the FHS program seeks its 10th Class AAA state title this week in Murfreesboro.
A two-run homer from FHS senior shortstop Ashton King was all the offense needed to earn a special trip: the program’s first TSSAA Class AAA state tournament berth since 2016.
An 86-pitch complete game gem from staff ace Ryan Hagenow, who allowed just three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts, kept the Vikings from crossing the plate in a 2-0 Ads victory in this Sectional 1-AAA do-or-die showdown May 17.
“He’s falling in line with the good ones that have been at Farragut,” Admirals skipper Matt Buckner said about Hagenow, the slender 6-foot-5 right-handed junior.
Having won 31 of its last 32 games while losing just once to a team in Tennessee (5-2 Region 2-AAA title game setback versus rival Hardin Valley Academy) — the Admirals head to Murfreesboro with a 38-3 record.
“I’m excited for our seniors — man this is a good group of kids,” Buckner said.
“They’ve worked really hard and invested a lot into the game.”
As a team, “I’m just happy for all of them,” he added.
“No matter what, we’ll end our year down there (Murfreesboro), and that’ll be OK. We’ve got a good club, and we’ve got a chance to go and compete.”
Tennessee High, Region 1-AAA champs, finishes its season 26-11.
Bartlett (31-12), from the Memphis area, was the Admirals’ opening-round opponent within FHS’s four-team state tourney bracket, having played Tuesday afternoon, May 21 (after deadline).
That winner faced the winner of Tuesday’s other game in this bracket, Johnson City Science Hill (27-12) versus Summit (25-11), which was played Wednesday, May 22 (also after deadline). Tuesday’s two losers also played an elimination-round game Wednesday.
As for his team’s biggest asset, “We’ve got a deep pitching staff that is kind of built for a tournament,” Buckner said. “Hopefully we’ll get off to a good start and see what we can do.”
If the Admirals survived into Thursday, they would play in either the winner’s bracket final (4:30 p.m. CDT, 5:30 p.m. EDT) or in a loser’s bracket game (2 p.m. CDT, 3 p.m. EDT) attempting to beat the last undefeated team in that bracket twice.
The Class AAA state championship game begins at 5 p.m. CDT, 6 p.m. EDT, Friday, May 24, at Middle Tennessee State University.
If Farragut reaches the state title game, it would play the other bracket champion: either Bradley Central (22-14), Riverdale (25-12), Independence (25-11) or Arlington (18-16).
