McCallie second baseman Blaine Pritchett dives to gather in an errant throw as Brentwood Academy's Conner Woodlee (6) slides in safely during the Blue Tornadoes'' 6-5 loss to the Eagles in the DII-2A championship game played at MTSU's Reese Smith, Jr. Field Wednesday afternoon in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
photo by Dennis Norwood
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – McCallie came up just a little bit short.
The Blue Tornado overcame a three-run deficit, grabbed a quick lead but the Eagles regained the upper hand and claimed the TSSAA Division II-2A state baseball championship with a 6-5 win Thursday at James Reese Jr. Field on the Middle Tennessee State University campus.
Brentwood Academy is no stranger to state titles.
The Eagles captured football, basketball and baseball championships during the 2016-17 school year.
“We didn’t lose hope down 4-1,” Tornado first baseman Cameron Costo said. “We wanted to be here and were ready to come back. It gave us a big boost of confidence when we got a 5-4 lead.”
After McCallie (22-15) scored three in the third, Brentwood Academy (23-12) came back in the top of the fourth to score twice and grab a one-run cushion. At the time, the slim margin didn’t seem like much of a hurdle for the Blue Tornado to challenge.
However, BA’s starting pitcher, Alex Reynolds, settled down and stymied McCallie over the next three-plus innings.
“This has been an unbelievable season and these guys didn’t surprise me in what they accomplished,” McCallie coach Tim Costo said. “They came back every day and gave us all they had. Over the last few weeks they refused to lay down or give up.”
McCallie, which was trying to win its third state baseball title (1976, 2014), scored in the first when Corbin Brooksbank walked, moved to second on a Costo groundout and scored on Ethan Bain’s single to left.
The Eagles, who used a six-run inning to beat McCallie 8-2 on Wednesday night and boot the Tornado out of the winner’s bracket, put up four runs in the second on the strength of three doubles.
BA’s first run came on a groundout after Conner Woodlee led off with a double. Easton Cline, the ninth-place hitter, pushed two runs across with a double and Cline came around on Griffin Hodge’s double into the left-field corner.
The Tornado couldn’t come back Thursday, but scored a run in the second and three more in the third to regain the lead at 5-4.
“There was a lot of enthusiasm in the dugout, a lot of energy,” coach Costo said. “You could hear a lot of chirping and cheering. We were able to build some momentum and hoped to keep it going.”
John Behrends, the Blue Tornado starting pitcher, singled in the second, stole second and scored on Jackson’s double to left.
Costo started the third with a single and later scored on Ethan Bain’s single. Max Riemer reached on a fielder’s choice and Daalen Adderly, running for Riemer, came home on an infield error and Bain eventually scored on a wild pitch.
“We knew they had used their two best pitchers earlier in the week,” Cameron Costo said. “We also knew we would face a good pitcher, but we just had to get our bats on the ball to beat the challenge ahead of us.”
However, the Blue Tornado did lose their momentum.
Reynolds, who gave up five hits in three innings, allowed just two more over the next three. McCallie got two runners to second in that span, but both were stranded – J.D. Day in the fourth and Dave Beard in the sixth.
An inning later, Costo singled to left.
BA coach Buddy Alexander pulled Reynolds and brought second baseman Jack Victory on in relief.
Riemer bunted back toward the mound and Victory fired to second for the out. Adderly, again running for Riemer, then moved to second on a wild pitch and represented the potential tying run.
Bain struck out.
Down to the final out, Behrends flied to right ending the game.
“I’m a glass half full guy,” coach Costo said. “I’m always positive and we talked before the season about hard work and the process. I expected this team to be successful and had this (state tournament) in the back of my mind.”
Seniors were emotional, having played their final game for the Blue Tornado.
Other players were disappointed as well.
Costo, a junior and the coach’s son, said, “It’s probably going to take a week to sink in that our season is over. Baseball has been our lifestyle since February. We were underdogs for most of the season so getting here (title game) is even sweeter.”
For the Eagles, they will be celebrating their fifth baseball championship, the first since 2010.
LINESCORE
Brentwood Academy 040 200 0 – 6 9 2
McCallie 113 000 0 – 5 9 0
Reynolds, Victory (7) and Rosen; Behrends, Beard (4) and Riemer.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)
Brentwood Academy's Griffin Hodge (7) gets back to first safely as McCallie's Cameron Costo gets set to catch the attempted pick-off throw. Brentwood defeated McCallie for the DII-2A championship.
photo by Dennis Norwood