Easy does it: Ads win 4-4A baseball tourney
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Cole Draper, Farragut junior starting pitcher, fires plateward against Hardin Valley Academy in a 16-3 Admirals victory in the District 4-4A Baseball Tournament at John Heatherly Field/The Ballpark at Farragut Thursday, May 2. - Photo courtesy of Jeremy Wiggs/Jeremy Wiggs Photography
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Farragut’s Ryan Wallace is hit-by-pitch against Hardin Valley Academy, a 16-3 Ads District 4-4A Tourney win Thursday, May 2, at FHS. - Photo courtesy of Jeremy Wiggs/Jeremy Wiggs Photography
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Colton Denton, facing left, is greeted by Hawks teammates after his three-run homer in that game. From left are Jacob Dillon, Jaxon Jones (13) and Isaac Worley (1). - Photo courtesy of Jeremy Wiggs/Jeremy Wiggs Photography
The District 4-4A dominance of Farragut High School’s 2024 baseball team reached its unsurprising crescendo Monday night, May 6, at The Ballpark at Farragut/John Heatherly Field.
In the first of two possible games to decide the district tournament championship, the Admirals erupted for seven first-inning runs, then cruised to an 11-0 six-inning, run-ruled victory over Maryville.
Equally effective for FHS was its shutdown pitching: three pitchers allowed no hits and faced a mere two batters beyond the minimum.
The tournament-clinching win gave FHS a cumulative tournament score of 39-4 in three games, a 32-5 overall record, and eliminated the need for a second game.
“We get a little bit spoiled around here,” Admirals’ skipper Matt Buckner said. “We did a great job, went undefeated in the district all year. We’ve got a good team. When we start rolling downhill, we create a lot of problems.”
The Rebels’ problems came in a rush in the bottom of the first.
After leadoff batter Lukas Buckner reached first on an error, FHS banged out four singles, two doubles and seven runs. Eleven batters went to the plate in the frame, the 10th being Buckner who slapped a double down the third-base line for two RBI in his second at-bat.
While Admirals’ hitters were running up the score, three FHS pitchers — starter Michael Delph and relievers Stratton Scott and Braylon Hall — allowed two base runners: one was on a walk and the other reached base on an error.
“We pitched really well and obviously we had a great first inning,” coach Buckner said.
Going into the bottom of the sixth, FHS led 8-1. The Admirals needed all of three batters to get the game-ending three runs to walk off.
Jake Merrick’s leadoff homer to left-center was followed by Eli Evans’ single to left. Delph then crushed a home run to right, which ended the game.
“I was looking for my pitch, right down the middle,” Merrick said. “It was there, just tried to hit it hard.”
“They did a good job pounding some balls,” Rebels head coach Adam Sullivan said. “We battled at the plate and our guys didn’t quit after it was 7-0.”
The Ads will host District 3-4A runner-up Kknoxville Central High School beginning at 4:30 p.m., Friday, May 10, in the first round of the Regional 2-4A Tournament.
All-District 4-4A
A slew of Ads made the All-District 4-4A Team: Evans, Delph, Merrick, Lukas Buckner, Landis Davila, Gavin Brewer, Charlie Bozeman, Cade O’Leary and Draper.
Davila was named District MVP and Delph was named Pitcher of the Year, while Offensive Player of the Year went to Evans. Buckner was named Coach of the Year.
