Bucs Come Up Short In 4-1 Loss To Grace In Class A Baseball

Boyd-Buchanan Won Earlier Game In Eighth-Inning To Stay Alive

  • Thursday, May 21, 2015
  • Larry Fleming
Boyd-Buchanan shortstop Cade Evans looks to make a play at first after getting a force at second during the Bucs 6-3 victory in eight inning over Knoxville Grace in the state baseball tournament on Thursday. Grace ousted the Bucs, 4-1, in the second game.
Boyd-Buchanan shortstop Cade Evans looks to make a play at first after getting a force at second during the Bucs 6-3 victory in eight inning over Knoxville Grace in the state baseball tournament on Thursday. Grace ousted the Bucs, 4-1, in the second game.
photo by Dennis Norwood

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Boyd-Buchanan had a mission Thursday.

Beat Knoxville Grace twice.

The first half of the plan worked out brilliantly when the Bucs scored three runs in the eighth inning, two on Cade Evans’ clutch double, and knocked off the Rams, 6-3, in the TSSAA Spring Fling Class A state baseball tournament.

However, Grace threw a wrench in the Bucs’ scheme by bouncing back for a 4-1 victory behind the four-hit pitching of Tyler Fee in the second game at Middle Tennessee Christian School, eliminating Boyd-Buchanan from the tourney.

Grace will play Summertown on Thursday in the state title game at Middle Tennessee State University at 11 a.m.

(Central time).

“This has been a very successful season as far as we’re concerned,” Bucs coach Josh Rider said. “As soon as last season ended we knew we should be back here playing for a state championship. To finish in the final four is an incredible year.”

In the elimination loss, the Bucs couldn’t deal with what Tyler Fee was dealing them. Fee fired a four-hitter with nine strikeouts and Boyd-Buchanan failed to get on the scoreboard until the seventh inning when Hunter Payne delivered a RBI double.

“Fee had a fastball in the upper 80s (mph) and was locating his breaking ball very well,” Rider said. “He’s a very good pitcher and was certainly better than we were tonight.”

E.J. Matthews and Payne each were 2-for-3 for the Bucs’ only hits.

Luke Shepherd had three hits and drove in a run to lead the Rams. Fee contributed two hits and pushed a run across. Chandler Adkins finished with two hits as well.

The Bucs’ Skyler Anderson turned in a solid effort, giving up eight hits and all four Grace runs. He struck out four. Josh Antwine finished up in the seventh.

Skyler pitched great, but we had a few errors and gave them some extra opportunities,” Rider said. “They hit the ball pretty well.”

With the loss, Boyd-Buchanan ended the season with 30 wins – a school record – and 11 losses.

The atmosphere around the Bucs dugout was completely different in the opener.

Both teams battled aggressively, but the runs were hard to come by because of the pitching of John Sewell and Hunter Ross over the first four innings.

Sewell gave up an unearned run in the first when Justin Shaw reached on Evans’ error at short and scored on Micah Wheeler’s single.

Shutout for four innings, Boyd-Buchanan got to Ross for three runs in the fifth to grab the lead.

Anderson and Austin Jackson started with singles to start the rally. Evans put down a sacrifice bunt to score Anderson. Jackson moved to third on a wild pitch and came home on Colby Morgan’s single up the middle. Morgan later scored on the Rams’ second error in the inning.

An inning later, Sewell reached on a one-out single and Anderson was safe on an error by Fee in right field. Jackson, who hit three home runs in the Bucs’ two wins on Wednesday, beat out an infield hit to load the bases.

Evans popped up a squeeze bunt and courtesy runner Isaiah Dillard was easily doubled off to end the inning.

Grace’s Adkins had doubled in a run in the Rams’ fifth inning and tied the game at 3 in the seventh on Shepherd’s clutch single to center on a 2-2 count off reliever Brandon Willingham.

In the eighth, Evans crushed a double to left to highlight the three-run inning and was clearly thrilled with the game’s outcome.

“I messed up the squeeze in the sixth, so I had to redeem myself ,” he said. “I was looking fastball because that’s all the kid had. I’ve been in a slump, so that felt great.”

Then, it was up to Willingham in the bottom of the inning.

He retired Ross Ledford on a groundout. Noah Gent singled to center and Hunter Ross walked.

The Bucs’ right-hander powered and struck out Justin Shaw and to end the game.

“There wasn’t that much pressure in the eighth,” Willingham said. “Three runs are tough for any team to come back from. I didn’t think those guys were going to score three runs off our defense and my pitching.

“Considering I lost to those guys Tuesday, this feels good.”

Rider was pumped in his own laid-back way of coaching.

“This is a huge win,” he said. “When you go into the loser’s bracket on the first day it becomes an uphill battle. We had a plan and felt like we had the arms to get back in this thing. We’re a game away from completing the plan for a chance to play for the championship (Friday).

“We told the guys we’ll have momentum going into the second game and feel good about our chances.”

Fee thought otherwise.

LINESCORE

Boyd-Buchanan                           000 030 03 – 6 10 2

Knox Grace                                     100 001 10 – 3 9 4

Sewell, Willingham (6) and Antwine; Ross, Wheeler (5) and Coffman.

Knox Grace                                    001 110 1 – 4 8 1

Boyd-Buchanan                           000 000 1 – 1 4 3

Fee and Coffman; Anderson, Antwine (7) and Payne.

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com  and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)

Left-hander John Sewell unleashes a pitch against Knoxville Grace on Thursday. Sewell threw five strong innings and was relieved by Brandon Willingham. The Bucs went on to win the game, 6-3, in eight innings.
Left-hander John Sewell unleashes a pitch against Knoxville Grace on Thursday. Sewell threw five strong innings and was relieved by Brandon Willingham. The Bucs went on to win the game, 6-3, in eight innings.
photo by Dennis Norwood
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