After a near 42-hour delay for bad weather, it took about 25 minutes to settle the issue in the District 6-AAA baseball tournament at Red Bank Sunday afternoon.
Play was suspended with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning Friday night when a flash of lightning was followed by a heavy downpour that ultimately ended play that night and caused the game to be suspended.
Senior Keith Scoggins had just gotten a big three-run triple in the sixth to get the Soddy Daisy Trojans within two runs of Signal Mountain at 9-7, but Scoggins was left at third when Friday’s play ended.
Starting in the same spot where they left off on Sunday afternoon, Scoggins was able to score on a single by Cooper Poe, but Signal’s Barrett Anderson retired the next two hitters to end the inning.
Ty Harper had a two-out single for the Eagles in the top of the seventh, but nothing else as 15-year-old sophomore Hayden Hickey allowed no runs and no walks while striking out two.
Anderson got two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Trojans loaded the bases when Logan Williams got hit by a pitch followed by walks to Jake Jackson and A.J. Florio, bringing Scoggins to the plate with two outs and the bases full.
He had the big hit on Friday, but couldn’t come through on Sunday as his deep fly to left was caught by Signal’s Harper to end the game.
This was the third time these two teams had played this season as they each won on the other’s field in the regular season before this latest battle.
Signal Mountain now improves to 24-8 while Soddy Daisy is now 29-7.
Signal Mountain coach Josh Gandy, who rarely gets rattled over anything, was very matter of fact when discussing the game after the last out had been recorded.
“I knew when I left here Friday night that the last inning and two-thirds would be a dogfight. The Scoggins kid hit it well and the game could have gone either way, but we had prepared for a one-run game,” Gandy said while photos were being taken during the post-game celebration.
“Barrett Anderson has been our most consistent pitcher all year long and really wanted the ball today and that’s why he got that opportunity. I wasn’t really sure what to think when they loaded the bases, but I had total confidence in Barrett. We won the game today, but there’s a really good chance we could see them again in the region,” Gandy nodded.
Soddy Daisy coach Jim Higgins was really proud of the way his kids battled back after being down 9-4 before the four-run sixth. And he also knows that the game of baseball can be funny at times, but that you still have to play the game.
“You can’t ask for much more. We knew that we had five outs to work with and I’m super proud of Hayden Hickey, who is just a 15-year-old sophomore. He wasn’t the least bit nervous, but went out and did a great job today,” he praised his pitcher for the final inning.
“It was an ugly game where both teams made a bunch of errors, but we basically gave the game to them. It’s not always about the long ball, but what it comes down to is which team can make the big plays at the right time.
“We have a chance to win every game we play if we play Soddy Daisy baseball, so we’ll just have to get ready for the next one,” Higgins said.
After a scoreless first on Friday, Cash Keene led off the second with a single and scored ahead of a two-run homer by Anderson that cleared the fence just inside the right-field foul pole.
Soddy Daisy responded by batting around in the bottom of the second and scoring four runs on just three hits. Logan Williams had the only run-scoring single while Jake Jackson and Scoggins had bases-loaded walks. The fourth run scored on a wild pitch.
Ben Timblin made it 4-3 with a solo homer in the third that cleared the 30-foot wall in center that traveled 400 feet or better and was perhaps one of the longest home runs ever hit at this park.
Vance Wilburn had an RBI-double in the fifth before Max Rackel drove in another with a single to put the Eagles up 5-4.
Then in the sixth, Signal scored four more runs, the first on an infield single by Rackel before Keene drove in the last three with a double for his third hit of the game.
Soddy Daisy answered with four runs in the sixth, including three on Friday. Those three scored on Scoggins triple to the gap in right-center about a minute before play was suspended for the evening.
Poe drove in Soddy’s final run with a single on Sunday, but the Trojans couldn’t score again as the Eagles hung on for the tournament championship.
Keene had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Eagles while Rackel, Harper and Wilburn all had two hits apiece.
Williams was the only Soddy Daisy player with three hits while five others had one each.
Signal Mountain will host the region tournament that begins with two games on Friday. The schedule will be posted as soon as the pairings are determined.
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 021 024 0 – 9 12 4
SODDY DAISY 040 004 0 – 8 8 3
Smiley, Timblin (4), Anderson (6) and Wilburn; Pinson, Poe (5), Hickey (7) and James.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)