Dawgs walk off Hardin Valley in District 4-4A showdown
BEARDEN — The annual dogfight that is District 4-4A baseball was perfectly showcased Monday night, April 15, at Bearden High School’s Phil Garner Ballpark.
Bearden’s 4-3 win over Hardin Valley Academy featured great pitching, clutch hitting, costly miscues and, unsurprisingly, a walk-off hit to win this key District 4-4A game.
With one out and a runner on first in the bottom of the seventh, centerfielder Cameron Cooper roped a 1-2 pitch off the right field wall. Shortstop Grayson Wright, who had singled, came all the way around and slid under the tag with the winning run.
“I was trying to put a ball in play,” Cooper said. “Got a fastball, right in my stride … grooved it.”
“This is an important win, but the district tournament is what it’s gonna come down to,” said Bulldogs’ skipper Dave Prichard, whose team improved to 19-6 overall, 5-3 in 4-4A. Hardin Valley fell to 18-5, 5-3.
“This is the toughest district in the state,” Hawks head coach David Dillon said. “We’ll see these guys again in the district tournament, and that’s what we’re playing for.”
Bearden led 3-0 after four innings. The lead came from an RBI single by Matthew Schroffel in the third, and a single by Wright in the fourth that, with the help of an error, scored two.
Bulldogs starting pitcher Rhys Thomas, meanwhile, had a perfect game through four-and-a-third innings. But Jacob Dillon’s solo home run made it 3-1 and gave HVA some new life.
“You knew all the time they were gonna come back,” Prichard said. “They’re a good ballclub.”
With two outs in the sixth, Mason Shelton’s single scored Jaxon Jones, which cut BHS’s lead to 3-2 heading into the seventh.
In the drama-filled seventh, the Hawks tied the game at 3-3 on a bizarre play that featured two errant throws by the Bulldogs with two outs, allowing Hawks designated hitter Aiden Murphy to score.
