A special season
‘... There’s going to be battles at state,’ as Ads baseball looks to threepeat
That unblemished record is being put to the test this week, as Matt Buckner’s Admirals (36-5) look for a threepeat, a third straight TSSAA Division I-4A state title in Murfreesboro.
Destroying Science Hill 9-4 and 18-0, ending a best-of-three Sectional Thursday, May 16, at FHS’s The BallPark at Farragut/John Heatherly Field, “Our guys have worked hard to prepare for this moment, and we’re ready,” coach Buckner said.
Entering state tourney action at Siegel High School versus Beech (25-7) Tuesday afternoon, May 21 (after deadline), an FHS Tuesday win would set up a game between the Tuesday winner of Siegel versus Clarksville at 1:30 p.m., EDT, 12:30 p.m. CDT, Wednesday, May 22. State title game at Middle Tennessee State starts at 8 p.m. EDT, 7 p.m. CDT, Friday, May 24.
Team stat leaders/batting
Batting average: Mr. Baseball Class 4A state finalist Eli Evans .477; Lukas Buckner .443; Jake Merrick .436; Landis Davila .435; Michael Delph .365; Brennon Seigler .353; Charlie Bozeman .317 and Gavin Brewer .291.
Home runs: Evans 11, Bozeman 9, Merrick 5, Delph 5 and Buckner 4.
RBI: Evans 61, Merrick 50, Buckner 49, Delph 40, Davila 36 and Bozeman 36.
Doubles: Delph 14, Evans 14, Buckner 13 and Davila 10. Triples: Merrick 5.
Stolen bases: Davila 19, Seigler 17 and Buckner 17.
On-base percentage: Evans .602, Merrick .552, Buckner .535 and Davila .533.
Runs scored: Buckner 57, Davila 47, Merrick 45, Evans 44 and Bozeman 42.
Pitching
Won-loss records: Cade O’Leary 7-0, Cole Draper 7-1, Braylon Hall 5-0, Delph 5-2, Stratton Scott 4-0, Ryan Wallace 3-1 and Braxton Lewis 2-0.
Pitching saves: Lewis 3. Delph 2, Scott 2, Hall 2 and Brodie Roberts 2.
ERA: Hall 0.99, Delph 1.38, Draper 1.56, O’Leary 2.01, Scott 2.25, Lewis 2.47 and Wallace 2.75.
Final home game memories, yet looking ahead
About being perfect at home in ’24, “Yeah, well, that’s what we were going for,” Lukas Buckner said.
With Brewer smacking a single in his last home at bat, “One final hit at home, yeah, it’s pretty sentimental, just trying to take it all in,” he said.
About 2024 to date, “It’s been amazing, but we ain’t done yet,” Delph said. “We’ve got more to go.”
“It’s a great feeling, but we obviously know that our job’s not done,” Bozeman said.
“You know there’s going to be battles at state, so we’ve got to be ready for it,” Hall said.
“Great way to go out, winning 18-to-0,” senior Mason Grube said. “I’m just excited for state and what comes next.”
“It’s been a lot of fun out here winning a lot of games, but we’re definitely not done,” Lewis said.
“It’s brought a lot of memories to me,” Wallace said.
