Ads blast McMinn County, stave off elimination
But, with their backs against the wall, the Admirals came out swinging on Monday, May 4.
Fueled by home runs from Travis Brummitt Jr., Mason Shelton and Caleb Van Lant, the
Ads breezed past McMinn County 11-0 in five innings to reach
the District 4-4A Tournament championship series.
In the process, FHS qualified for the region tournament and kept its hopes alive for a fifth straight Class 4A state title.
“Our guys are always confident in themselves, and they do things right to handle their business,” Farragut coach Garrett Copeland said. “They knew what was on the line, and they know our expectations and standards. They wanted to continue working to achieve our goal.”
FHS faced Oak Ridge in that district series Tuesday, May 5, though results were not available at press time.
As for Monday’s result, Brummitt started off the bottom of the first with a three-run homer to put the Ads on the board.
Two batters later, Shelton went yard for a 5-0 lead while Van Lant knocked a long ball to left in the bottom of the fourth. That put the Admirals at their final margin as the team went 12-for-23 at the plate while burning through four McMinn County pitchers.
Shelton, Creasman and Aidan Flagg registered two hits apiece, and Brummitt and Creasman tallied three RBIs, each with two apiece from Van Lant and Shelton.
“I think we’re doing a good job,” Copeland said. “We’ve had some good approaches for the last couple weeks even when things haven’t gone our way. We’ve stayed hard in the middle of the field, and I think that has definitely helped.”
Brummitt put forth a similar result on the mound, giving up just two hits with three walks and four strikeouts in four innings of work.
He left the game ahead of the fifth inning, at which point Brody Watkins struck out two with a walk in one inning of work.
“He was great,” Copeland said of his starter. “Pounded the zone, gave us a chance, limited walks. He was efficient and threw multiple pitches for strikes, so that was good to see.”
