MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Eighth-ranked Riverdale beat visiting Soddy-Daisy, 2-0, Friday night in a Class AAA baseball sectional and earned a trip – albeit a short one – to the state tournament next week in the Warriors’ home town.
Brady Puckett stopped the Trojans (21-18) on five hits and got enough run support to post the victory.
Puckett and Soddy-Daisy’s Christian Amos were locked in a pitcher’s duel the entire game – both notched complete-game efforts. The Trojans were not able to dent the scoreboard.
“Christian was pitching on short rest,” Trojans coach Jared Hensley said, “but he was just as good as he’s been all year. I felt like he deserved better than he got tonight because he was great.”
Riverdale (29-9), which has won 14 straight games, got a RBI double by Riley Walters in the second and Brad Woodson’s infield hit in the fifth pushed across the second run.
Amos scattered seven hits and struck out three and walked three.
A Cleveland State Community College signee, Amos finished the season with a sparkling 0.73 ERA.
The last two days were tough on the Trojans, who lost the Region 3-AAA title game to Cookeville on Thursday and then saw their season end a day later.
There is consolation in the fact that Cookeville and Riverdale are state tournament teams.
The Cavaliers beat a talented Tullahoma team in the other area Class AAA sectional.
“That was a tough draw going to Cookeville and Riverdale,” Hensley said. “But we learned a lot about our program. I’m hoping the younger guys can learn from this experience and maybe we can put ourselves in a good position to be back here next year.
“There were times we struggled, but when May rolled around they started playing together as a team. It has been really fun these last two and a half weeks, seeing my guys live up to their expectations.”
SUMMARY
Soddy-Daisy 000 000 0 – 0 5 0
Riverdale 010 010 x – 2 7 0
Amos and Clift; Puckett and Swazey.
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)