Soddy-Daisy, East Hamilton Win, Stay Alive In 5-3A Baseball Tourney

Trojans' Workman, 'Canes' Woods Mound Masters

  • Wednesday, May 3, 2017
  • Larry Fleming
Logan Workman of Soddy-Daisy delivers a pitch against Cleveland in the District 5-3A baseball tournament Wednesday at Walker Valley High School. Workman gave up one hit in 6 1/3 innings as the Trojans won 1-0. Dylan Perry came on in relief in the seventh inning and got a save.
Logan Workman of Soddy-Daisy delivers a pitch against Cleveland in the District 5-3A baseball tournament Wednesday at Walker Valley High School. Workman gave up one hit in 6 1/3 innings as the Trojans won 1-0. Dylan Perry came on in relief in the seventh inning and got a save.
photo by Dennis Norwood

EDITOR'S NOTE: For the second straight day the District 5-3A baseball tournament baseball game matching Soddy-Daisy and East Hamilton was postponed Friday by rain. The game will be played Saturday at noon at Walker Valley High School. The best-of-three series pitting Ooltewah and the Soddy-Daisy and East Hamilton winner and Bradley and Walker Valley are slated Sunday at 1 and 4 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Tenn.

– Soddy-Daisy and East Hamilton advanced in the District 5-3A baseball tournament on Wednesday with solid wins over Cleveland and McMinn County at Walker Valley High School.

The Trojans got a sterling combined one-hit shutout from Logan Workman and Dylan Perry and Spencer Gore scored after a collision at home plate and moved on with a 1-0 victory over the Blue Raiders in the day’s first game.

“(Workman) has been an absolute stud the entire year,” Soddy-Daisy coach Jared Hensley said. “That was only the 10th hit he’s given up this year but his pitch count got up a little bit. He did a super job and was deserving of the win.”

In the nightcap, the Hurricanes pecked away against the Cherokees and rode the 14-strikeout, eight-hit effort of Nick Woods for the 5-2 win.

“Nick did everything we expected of a four-year starter with a lot of experience in back-to-the-wall situations,” Hurricanes coach Steve Garland said. “The seventh inning was weird with all the hits but he got three strikeouts.”

The No. 4-seeded Trojans (13-17) and the No. 5 Hurricanes (14-17) play Thursday at 7 p.m. in another elimination game. The winner will face top-seed Ooltewah at 5 p.m. in a best-of-three series either on Friday or Saturday, depending on the weather.

County rivals Bradley Central (No. 2) and Walker Valley (No. 3) will square off in the other three-game series. That opener is set for 8 p.m.

The series winners will play for the championship scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m.

“When you reach this point this is what you play for,” Garland said. “Our guys wanted this game tonight. They were enthusiastic, energetic and stayed in it to the end.”

Workman gave up a one-out single to Jake Griffin in the second inning and cruised into the seventh.

That’s when things got a bit tense.

Workman struck out Griffin to start the inning. Cleveland’s Ryan Lee hit a shot that first baseman Luke Ellis snagged but his toss was wide and pulled Workman off the base for the Trojans’ lone miscue in the game.

The Blue Raiders’ Trevor Ramsey walked and Hensley pulled his starter in favor of Perry, the team’s No. 2 starter throughout the regular season. Perry retired Alex Ventura and Tyler Standridge on ground balls to end the game.

“I started aiming the ball in that inning,” said Workman, a Lee University signee. “I had felt great up to that point. I was throwing strikes and the guys were making plays behind me. They knew what was at stake. I knew what was at stake and we all played our hearts out.”

Soddy-Daisy’s only run came in the second inning.

Cleveland ace Camden Sewell, a junior already committed to Tennessee, struck out Aaron Couch and Ellis before walking Gore. Hayden Maynor moved Gore to second with a single to center. Gore stole third.

Moments later Maynor broke toward second and stopped. Sewell stared him down and looked back toward third. Maynor made another move toward second and Sewell turned and threw home and appeared to have nailed Gore, who collided with Lee, the Cleveland catcher. The ball popped out of Lee’s mitt and the Trojans had the only run they needed to keep their season going.

Workman worked 6 1/3 innings and struck out four and walked five while picking up the win. Perry got the save.

“Perry has been our Tuesday guy (district teams play league games on Monday and Tuesday) all year,” Hensley said. “We thought about who to bring in for Logan but really we had no choice. We went with Perry. It was an easy decision.”

Sewell went six innings and allowed only two hits – Maynor’s single in the second and Josh Perez’s two-out single in the fifth – while fanning eight and walking two.

Sewell was distraught after the game.

“Giving up the one run really hurt,” he said. “I had a feeling that could be the game. I battled and counted on us scoring a run or two. Before the game I thought if we could score one run we could win. If we got two runs, it would be in the bag. We’ve been struggling to do that lately and we struggled again today.”

“This is going to sting until I get back into summer ball. And there’s always next year for the guys coming back.”

In the slow-paced nightcap, the Trojans jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a RBI double by Braydon Griffith and a Brandon Delvalle sacrifice fly in the first inning.

Davis Dunn’s second-inning triple scored Jacob Howard, who singled and stole second to push the lead to 3-0.

Matt Wingard walked with two out in the fifth and came home on Delvalle’s bloop single to right.

Howard beat out an infield single in the sixth, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. He scored on Will Campbell’s sacrifice fly to right field for a 5-1 lead.

The Cherokees scored a run in the second when Drew Phillips singled, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and came home on Cooper Roberts’ sacrifice fly.

Woods gave up two hits after that before running into trouble in the seventh.

Ethan Belcher struck out but Carson Pope singled to left. Roman Lockmiller was Woods’ 13th strikeout victim and Zach Rollins punched a single through the left side. Phillips’s hit loaded the bases.

Roberts grounded to third and Howard’s throw to first was in the dirt. The error allowed Pope to score and the bases were still loaded.

Woods whiffed Bradley Hayes for the fourth time to end the game.

“I was getting behind in the count and left a few balls over the plate,” Woods said. “And I struggled a little bit. But we won and I think we’ll be ready for our next game. In this district, I feel like we’re as good as anybody.”

LINESCORES

Cleveland                  000 000 0 – 0 1 1

Soddy-Daisy              010 000 x – 1 2 0

Sewell and Lee; Workman, Perry (7) and Travis.

McMinn County        001 000 1 – 2 8 1

East Hamilton           210 011 x – 5 8 1

Pope and Rollins; Woods and Campbell.

(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)

Soddy-Daisy runner Spencer Gore collides with Cleveland catcher Ryan Lee in the second inning, knocking the ball loose and scoring the game's only run in the Trojans' 1-0 victory in the District 5-3A baseball tournament Wednesday.
Soddy-Daisy runner Spencer Gore collides with Cleveland catcher Ryan Lee in the second inning, knocking the ball loose and scoring the game's only run in the Trojans' 1-0 victory in the District 5-3A baseball tournament Wednesday.
photo by Dennis Norwood
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