MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Lookout Valley didn’t intend for the 2008 baseball season to end on a Wednesday night.
That was exactly the case here at Joe Baron Field on the campus of Middle Tennessee Christian School in the BlueCross Spring Fling State Class A state baseball tournament.
The Richland Raiders put an end to Lookout Valley’s season with a 9-4 victory in a loser’s bracket game.
The sun was settling behind the trees in left field about the same time the sun set on the Jackets’ season, which ended prematurely at 36-7.
Richland improved to 31-4 and will face the Huntington Mustangs for the second time in two days Thursday morning.
“We’ve been here for the last three years in a row and that’s special, but there’s nothing I can say to those guys that will make them feel better right now,” Lookout Valley coach David Dinger said after a lengthy post-game chat with his players.
“We have an exceptional group of seniors who had a great career at Lookout Valley, but we’ll keep playing even when they’re gone.
"I’m proud of these guys as they’ve won more than 100 games in the last three years, but we made some mistakes tonight and didn’t do anything to overcome them,” the coach continued, referring to the four errors his team committed.
“We felt like we belonged in this tournament as there are eight quality teams in our division, but unfortunately, there is only one state champion and obviously, it won’t be us this year,” he added.
The Raiders took a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Lookout Valley starter Tyler Crowley got the first two outs without a problem, but he issued consecutive walks to Cory Pickett and Justin McNeese.
Both scored on a long double to center by Blayze Parsons.
Lookout Valley countered with four runs in the second, the biggest blow being a three-run triple by Lance Rorex.
The ball he hit wasn’t that deep or hard, but the left fielder tried to make a heroic diving catch and missed.
By the time he got the ball back to the infield, Ian McDade, David Moses and Jon Barry all scored.
Cory Reagan’s two-out single plated Rorex as Lookout Valley enjoyed its 4-2 lead for a very brief time.
Richland came right back and scored five in its half of the second as the Raiders sent nine to the plate.
Cruz Wallace reached on a one-out error before Gage Cunningham walked. Jamar Garrett’s single loaded the bases and Wallace scored when Joey Wagoner lined a single to left.
Pickett then cleared the bases with a double to left-center before he scored the fifth run on Lookout Valley’s second error of the inning.
Richland starter Dustin Jett fielded a line drive off the top of his foot in the second inning, but he only got stronger as the game progressed as he retired 13 straight Jackets before Barry broke the string with a walk in the seventh.
Jett, a senior who improved to 5-1, finished with a five-hitter and no hits after that second-inning explosion.
He walked three and struck out three.
“My foot is a little sore, but I’ll be OK,” he said when the game ended.
“It was extremely important for us to win this game as we weren’t ready for our season to end. We came through in the clutch when it counted the most.
“This was the biggest game I’ve ever pitched and also the best. Our entire team had a no-lose attitude tonight and we got the job done,” he said.
Richland coach Troy Hughes had plenty of praise for his senior pitcher.
“That was an awesome pitching performance by Dustin. It was by far his best game of the year. He’s tough and he hung in there, even after taking that shot off his foot. I knew he was capable of pitching like that,” the coach said.
“This team has hit the ball well all year, but tonight we were especially patient at the plate and got some timely hits. Now we have to play Huntington again,” Hughes added.
Lookout Valley’s five hits included the triple by Rorex, the double by Marr and singles by Reagan, Cody Brooks and McDade.
Parsons was the only Richland player with two hits -- both were doubles -- and he finished with three RBI.
Pickett added a third double while the other three hits were all singles.
OFFICIAL BOXSCORE
Lookout Valley HS 4 (1-2) Richland HS 9 (2-1)
Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI
Lance Rorex ss............. 4 1 1 3 Jamar Garrett cf........... 3 1 1 0
Tyler Crowley p/rf......... 4 0 0 0 Joey Waggoner 2b........... 4 1 1 1
Cory Reagan 1b/p........... 2 0 1 1 Cory Pickett ss............ 2 3 1 3
Cody Brooks 3b............. 3 0 1 0 Justin McNeese c........... 3 1 0 1
Brandon O'Dell 2b.......... 3 0 0 0 Blayze Parsons 3b.......... 3 1 2 3
Casey Marr c............... 3 0 1 0 Dustin Jett p.............. 4 0 0 0
Jordan Winchester pr...... 0 0 0 0 Zak Malone 1b.............. 3 0 1 1
Ian McDade lf.............. 3 1 1 0 Cruz Wallace lf............ 3 1 0 0
David Moses rf/1b.......... 1 1 0 0 Gage Cunningham rf......... 1 1 0 0
Hayden Turner p........... 1 0 0 0 Tyler Young rf............ 0 0 0 0
Jonathon Barry cf.......... 2 1 0 0
Totals..................... 26 4 5 4 Totals..................... 26 9 6 9
Score by Innings R H E
Lookout Valley HS... 040 000 0 - 4 5 4
Richland HS......... 250 200 X - 9 6 0
E - Rorex(1); Brooks 2(2); O'Dell, B.(1). DP - Lookout Vall 1. LOB - Lookout Vall 4;
Richland 6. 2B - Marr(1); Pickett(1); Parsons 2(2). 3B - Rorex(1). SB - Garrett(1);
Pickett 2(2).
Lookout Valley HS IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
Tyler Crowley L,0-1....... 2.0 4 7 6 3 3 0 0 0 0 12 15 1 2
Hayden Turner ............. 2.0 2 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 9 11 4 1
Cory Reagan ............... 2.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 7 4 1
Richland HS IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
Dustin Jett W,1-0......... 7.0 5 4 4 3 3 0 0 0 0 26 29 6 12
Strikeouts - Crowley; O'Dell, B.; Moses; Garrett 2; Jett 2. Walks - Reagan; Moses; Barry; Garrett; Pickett 2; McNeese; Parsons; Cunningham 2.
(Email John Hunt at tnmoose2002@aol.com)
Lookout Valley's Casey Marr slides into second on a double.
photo by
Greg Davick