Senior Logan Workman was in a groove Monday night, but a blister that burst on the middle finger of his right hand put an end to his evening as he headed to the dugout at Soddy Daisy's Tom Higgins Field with two outs in the sixth inning and a no-hitter against District 5-AAA foe East Hamilton.
The Hurricanes did finally get a hit with two outs in the seventh and they did score a pair of runs when two hitters got hit by pitches with the bases loaded, but the Trojans were able to hang on for the 6-2 victory.
“I feel like I could have gone the whole way, but a blister on this finger burst and I couldn’t finish,” the slender 18-year-old senior said after the game ended.
“I had a good defense behind me and I felt strong the whole way, but the blister ended it for me,” he added.
The Trojans took a 3-0 lead with a fast start in the first and they added three more in the fifth.
Jake Flippo came on in relief of Workman and got a grounder to second to end the sixth and he got two quick outs in the seventh before Davis Dunn ended the no-hit bid with a sharp single to right on an 0-1 count.
Tyler Blum then reached on an infield error before Will Campbell walked to load the bases. Matt Wingard got hit by a pitch drive in the first run for the Hurricanes and Nick Woods got plunked to drive in the second run, but Flippo got pinch-hitter Dylan Hendricks to fly to right to end the game.
“Our pitching was simply outstanding tonight as Logan did a great job. He got into a little jam with the two errors in the first, but was able to settle down and pitch extremely well,” said Soddy Daisy coach Jared Hensley after his team improved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in District 5-AAA.
“Our pitching hasn’t been all that great before today, but we challenged them and they responded. And I thought Jake Flippo did a nice job in relief. He sort of lost it for a minute when they got that first hit, but was able to recover nicely.
“It always helps when you get an early lead, but we wanted a good approach at the plate early and that’s what we got. It’s nice to get this first district win, but we have to play these guys at their place tomorrow and you can bet they will bounce back,” Hensley nodded.
East Hamilton coach Steve Garland was brief and to the point in his post-game remarks.
“Hat’s off to the Workman kid as he pitched a great game, but I’m glad we were able to show a little scrap there at the end. We did manage to bring the tying run to the plate there in the seventh, which made things a little interesting, but it was too little too late,” he said while walking toward his team down the line in right.
A couple of miscues by Soddy Daisy second baseman Hayden Maynor allowed East Hamilton to put runners on first and second in the first with one out, but the scrappy freshman was able to redeem himself by starting a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.
The Trojans then jumped on East Hamilton southpaw Drew Cantrell for three runs on three hits in the first.
Justin Cooke led off with a single before scooting to third on a double by Jacob Jennings. Joshua Perez got hit by a pitch to load the bases before catcher Harrison Travis ripped a 1-0 single to right for the first two runs. Addison Roberts then flied to right to drive in Perez and Workman had all the run support he needed.
The Trojans doubled the score with three more runs in the fifth.
Luke Ellis and Travis both had run-scoring singles while the third run scored on a wild pitch.
The Hurricanes did finally end the no-hit bid and they did avoid the shutout, but that was able all they could say good for themselves as they headed back to East Brainerd with their second district loss in two games.
Workman improved to 2-0 on the young season with his best effort as he allowed two walks and hit one while striking out six. Flippo allowed the one hit and two runs with a walk and two hit batters.
Cantrell was the loser for the Hurricanes after allowing six runs on six hits in four and a third innings. He also had one walk, two strikeouts and three hit batters.
Cooke and Travis both had two hits for the Trojans while Aaron Couch, Jennings, Roberts and Ellis all had one apiece.
Jennings and Perez both scored twice for Soddy Daisy.
EAST HAMILTON 000 000 2 – 2 1 1
SODDY DAISY 300 030 x – 6 8 3
Cantrell, Carr (5), Dunn (6) and Campbell; Workman, Flippo (6) and Travis.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)