Soddy-Daisy rallied for two runs in the seventh inning Tuesday and completed a two-game sweep of Ooltewah with a 5-4 victory in District 5-3A baseball action at Tom Higgins Field.
The Trojans, trailing 4-3, started the game-winning rally when Jacob Jennings reached on a hard ground ball at Ooltewah reliever Jacob Robinson, who recorded three strikeouts to escape a base-loaded mess in the fifth inning.
Harrison Travis was hit by a pitch. Robinson balked Jennings to third and Dylan Caldwell, running for Travis, to second.
Garrett Dent struck out.
Aaron Couch’s infield hit pushed Jennings home with the tying run.
Landon Maynor walked to load the bases and Noah Howard lofted a fly ball to right where Tyler Phillips misplayed committed an error and Caldwell scored the winning run.
Zane Guess, who relieved starter Seth Coffelt in the fifth, gave up a game-tying run in the top of the seventh but his teammates saved him with the rally in the bottom of the inning. Guess got the win.
Guess allowed two hits and the run while striking out two and walking two. Coffelt worked the first four innings, yielding five hits and three runs. He struck out three and walked four. Guess escaped a seventh-inning jam in relief of Landon Maynor and preserved a 2-0 win over the Owls on Monday that secured the postseason tournament’s No. 3 seed.
Robinson took the hard-luck loss, giving up three hits and two runs – one earned – while fanning five and walking two. Starter Jax Howard threw four innings. He allowed four hits, three runs and struck out six and walked four.
Each team collected seven hits and made the most of them. The Trojans (18-10, 8-4) were able to capitalize on the seventh-inning error to conclude the regular season on a positive note.
Seven different Soddy-Daisy players had singles for the Trojans.
Payton Keiser and Trevor Dunlevy each had two hits and Dunlevy added two RBIs.
The Owls (2-14, 4-8) got on the scoreboard quickly with two first-inning runs.
Keiser walked and Steven McHone struck out. Keiser stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch, setting up Robinson’s run-scoring infield single. Dominic Mackaluso also walked. Phillips hits into a fielder’s choice and Dunlevy punched an RBI single to center for the 2-0 lead.
The Owls added a run in the third when Robinson walked and stole second, third and home. Ooltewah loaded the bases in the fourth inning but failed to score. Isaac Hughes singled to center, Eli Wells reached on an error and was picked off by Coffelt. After a fly out, Keiser reached on an infield hit and McHone walked to fill the bases with Owls. Robinson flied out to left to end the threat.
In Soddy-Daisy’s fourth, Travis was safe on Robinson’s error at third base and Garrett Dent’s single sent courtesy runner Dylan Caldwell to second. Aaron Couch struck out and Landon Maynor flied out with Phillips moving to third.
Noah Howard’s RBI single drove Caldwell home and broke up Howard’s bid for a shutout. Guess followed with an infield hit to score Dent and pulling the Trojans to within 3-2.
Guess came on in relief for the Owls’ fifth inning and retired Mackaluso on a fly ball to center, Phillips walked, Dunlevy grounded out and Hughes was out on a grounder back to the mound.
Hayden Maynor started the Trojans’ fifth with a single to center and stole second base. Maynor went to third on a wild pitch and Jennings walked. Travis walked to load the bases with none out and Caldwell came on to run for the Soddy-Daisy catcher.
Robinson came on to relieve Howard and faced Dent, who drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch, with Maynor trotting home to tie the game at 3-3. The bases remained loaded. Robinson struck out Couch, Landon Maynor and Noah Howard to thwart the threat.
Walker Valley 8, McMinn County 2: Wins have been few and far between for the Mustangs this season, but they were the third team on Tuesday to complete a two-game sweep in the regular-season finales in district play.
Cleveland 12, Bradley Central 2: The Blue Raiders (13-9, 6-6), who beat the Bears on Monday for the first time in four years, completed a sweep of the final district game for both teams with a five-inning 12-2 rout at Cleveland High School.
Cleveland’s Asa Blake, benefitting from a 9-2 lead after three innings, went the distance and scattered four hits, two of which were doubles by the Bears’ Dylan Standifer, and didn’t give up a run after a two-run first inning. He struck out four and walked two and threw 84 pitches, 50 for strikes.
After putting up one run in the first, the Blue Raiders rocked the Bears (17-11, 9-3) with four runs in each of the second and third innings.
Hunter Levert stroked an RBI double to left. Levert scored on an error by Bradley pitcher Cooper Casteel. Robert Flowers reached on a bunt single and later scored on an error by left-fielder Logan Weeks and Hayden Tinsley, who singled, crossed the plate on Ryan Lee’s fielder’s choice.
The four-run third was highlighted by Lee’s bases-loaded triple and Flowers added a sacrifice fly. Lee finished with four RBIs.
Jack Pullen smacked a single to center in the fifth to drive Tinsley home with the 12th run that ended the game.
Pullen, Tinsley and Powers each had two hits to account for six of the Blue Raiders’ 11 in the game. Tinsley scored three runs while Landen Beaty, Powers and Levert each scored twice.
Caden Sherlin and Jake Thompson each drove in a run for the Bears.
Casteel took the loss, working just 2 2/3 innings. He allowed five hits and nine runs – six were earned – while fanning one and walking three.
Walker Valley 8, McMinn County 2: Wins have been few and far between for the Mustangs this season, but they were the third team on Tuesday to complete a two-game sweep in the regular-season finales in district play.
Walker Valley (9-13, 3-9) spotted the Cherokees (12-15, 3-9) a run in the first and then scored three in the bottom of the inning.
Charlie Swafford laced a two-run single to right and Harrison Price’s infield hit pushed Dylan Allender home with the third run. Allender walked earlier.
Parker Caldwell went 2 for 4 and scored three runs for the Mustangs. Price was 2 for 2 with two RBIs.
Gavin Peterson went 2 for 3 for the Cherokees.
Linescores
Ooltewah 201 000 1 – 4 7 2
Soddy-Daisy 000 210 0 – 5 7 1
Howard, Robinson (5) and Wells; Coffelt, Guess (5) and Travis.
Bradley Central 200 00 – 2 4 3
Cleveland 144 21 – 12 11 0
Casteel, Lewis (3) and Standifer; Blake and Lee
McMinn County 100 100 0 – 2 5 4
Walker Valley 301 220 x – 8 7 0
Frank, Akens (5) and Goodin; Klepzig, Hailey (4) and Calfee.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)