The Boyd-Buchanan Bucs put the finishing touches on a successful baseball week by capturing the Lookout Valley Yellow Jackets Classic.
And in doing so, the Bucs knocked off three state-ranked teams – South Pittsburg, Franklin Road Academy and Rockwood.
In addition to those wins, Boyd-Buchanan finished a sweep of Copper Basin, 14-0, on Saturday before heading back to Lookout Valley to win the Yellow Jacket Classic later in the day.
The Bucs are now 19-9 overall and 6-0 in District 5-A.
Boyd-Buchanan 13, Lookout Valley 0: Bucs freshman Cameron Wolfe threw a three-hit shutout in a complete-game performance on Thursday.
Seth Rogers and Cade Evans each had two hits for the Bucs.
Boyd-Buchanan 6, South Pittsburg 5: Coach Josh Rider’s Bucs got three home runs in the game, including a solo shot by E.J. Matthews in the seventh inning that provided the winning run.
Nathan Murrell’s homer gave the Bucs an early 2-1 lead and then Jim Cardwell’s two-run blast tied the game at 5-all in the sixth. Murrell and Hunter Payne each went 2-for-4 against the 24th-ranked Pirates.
Josh Antwine pitched six innings and got the win while Cardwell worked the seventh for his fourth save.
Boyd-Buchanan 4, Franklin Road Academy 1: John Sewell stymied No. 2 FRA until allowing a game-tying run in the fourth inning. Cardwell singled, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead.
Sewell was still the pitcher of record when Boyd-Buchanan scored three runs in the sixth for the victory.
Brandon Willingham, who set a school record with 17 strikeouts in a 7-1 win over Copper Basin on Wednesday, pitched the seventh for his first save in a game that ended at 11:25 p.m.
Boyd-Buchanan 14, Copper Basin 0: The Bucs’ bus left to Copperhill at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, but the long, scenic ride up Highway 64 to Copper Basin High School had no bad effects on “Rider’s Raiders.”
Skyler Anderson needed only 50 pitches over four innings to get the win with a neat one-hitter. He struck out eight and won his fourth game.
Seth Rogers pitched the fifth and struck out the side.
Murrell was the hitting star of the game, going 4-for-5 with four RBIs.
Boyd-Buchanan 10, Rockwood 1: After the lopsided win over Copper Basin, the Bucs bussed back to Lookout Valley to play the Tigers, who reached the Class A state tournament in 2013, for the classic title.
Murrell was tabbed to face the high-scoring Tigers, who had been averaging 10.6 runs per game, second only to Craigmont’s 13.2 among state schools.
The senior went the distance in taming Rockwood, which reached the Class A state tournament last season in Murfreesboro.
Evans went 3-for-4 to pace the Bucs’ offense and Colby Morgan hit a solo home run. Both players are freshmen.
After losing to Georgia power Calhoun last Wednesday at AT&T Field, the Bucs have won six straight games and 14 of their last 15.
Boyd-Buchanan next plays at Arts & Sciences on Tuesday. Game time is 5 p.m.
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com)