Baseball Ads rout Bulldogs, 7-2
Strong pitching and timely hitting gave Farragut High School’s baseball team a 7-2 home win over District (4-4A) rival Bearden on a cold, blustery night Thursday, April 7.
“It was a good win,” Admirals’ skipper Matt Buckner said. “We needed to get off to a good start. Braylon Hall and Stratton Scott pitched really well.”
Shortstop Lukas Buckner got things going for the Admirals in the bottom of the first with a first-pitch home run. Later in the inning, Landis Davila scored on a single by Jett Johnston.
“Lukas and Jett got us off to a great start in the first inning,” Buckner said.
The Bulldogs made it 2-1 in the fifth when Hudson Hoffecker walked, was bunted to second and scored on Brooks Wright’s double.
A curious base-running decision cost Bearden more possible runs in the inning. With Luke Seagrist on third and Wright on second, Wright led way off the base, forcing relief pitcher Scott to throw too short for a pickoff attempt.
Seagrist then broke for home and was thrown out, ending the inning.
“We hadn’t practiced anything even remotely close to that,” Bulldogs’ coach Dave Prichard said. “I don’t know what he was thinking. He just left the base. That was a big moment.”
In the bottom of the inning, a walk and an error put two on for the Admirals’ Jake Merrick, who followed with a three-run blast to make it 5-1.
Bearden’s Tripp Spencer hit a towering home run in the top of the sixth to make it 5-2, but Farragut added two more in the bottom of the inning. Garrett Brewer scored on Davila’s triple, and Davila then scored on Brennon Seigler’s double.
Hall got the win, going four and two-thirds innings, giving up one earned run on three hits with five strikeouts. Wright took the loss, giving up seven hits and five runs in five innings.
Monday, April 4, the Admirals (9-7, 3-0 District) beat
William Blount High School 12-8 in nine innings on the road. FHS scored six in the ninth to seal it.
“A real battle,” Buckner said. “Johnston pitched three really good innings.”
Monday, April 4, the Bulldogs lost 8-6 to Heritage on the road. Saturday, April 9, at Cookeville, Bearden went down 10-4 to the Cavaliers.
“We didn’t pitch well all week,” Prichard said. “We swung it OK at times. We stranded a lot of runners.
“We have to do a better job of driving guys in.”
