Late wins salvage week
Farragut High School’s baseball team went 3-2 last week. Had the Admirals not twice found a way to win in the final inning, the week would have been a very forgettable 1-4.
The games were part of the Smoky Bear/DeMarini Invitational Tournament played at various locations around the area. Admirals’ coach Matt Buckner thinks his team is experiencing the growing pains he predicted before the season began.
“We’re taking some lumps right now,” Buckner said. “Really inexperienced. We’ve got a long way to go.”
That comment was spoken after the final game on Saturday which was a 12-4 loss to Science Hill at home. The Admirals gave up 15 hits while committing four errors.
“We played poorly,” Buckner said. “We can’t get a hit with runners in scoring position. Then we gave ‘em some extra runs by not playing defense. We didn’t do a whole lot well.”
The week started with an 8-3 win over Knoxville Catholic High School Multiple players got two hits each for Farragut, and Jaxson Pease got the win in five innings.
Wednesday, March 26, the Admirals scored two in the bottom of the seventh to beat Jefferson County, 5-4. They trailed 4-0 after the first inning. Garrett Brewer drove in the winning run, and Eli Miller got the win with three innings of relief, giving up one hit.
Farragut lost to Bartlett High School 8-4 on Thursday, March 26. The Admirals were down 8-1 going into their last at-bat. Jett Johnston took the loss, giving up three earned runs in three and two-thirds innings. Jack Alley had two hits for Farragut. The Admirals got their second dramatic win March 26, scoring two in the bottom of the seventh to beat Tates Creek of Kentucky, 2-1.
With the bases loaded and the score tied at 1, Jake Merrick was hit by a pitch, scoring Brennon Seigler with the winning run. Matthew Kilbey got the win in relief, throwing one hitless inning.
Seigler had two of the Admirals’ four hits. Lukas Buckner had the other two.
“We didn’t play all that well,” Buckner said. “We figured out a way to win at the end.”
“We get two hits, then we get three outs in a row,” said Buckner of Saturday’s loss to the Hilltoppers. Science Hill scored six in the top of the seventh to blow it open.
Eli Evans, Buckner and Seigler each had multiple hits for Farragut, which improved to 5-4.
“Hopefully we can start getting better,” Buckner said.” We’re very very inexperienced. I knew this was probably gonna happen. I’m hoping that we start making some improvements all the way around.”
