State-Ranked Soddy Daisy Edges Hixson, 6-5

It was news to Soddy Daisy coach Jim Higgins to hear his Trojan baseball squad had started the day ranked seventh among all AAA teams in the state.

“First, I’ve heard of it,” Higgins said truthfully.

Between rolling through the Trojans’ new home in District 6-3A and trying to navigate an enhanced schedule to have the men of troy ready for the postseason, Higgins really hasn’t even made time to keep up with his squad’s record, other than the Monday-Tuesday outings otherwise known as league games.

After dropping down in classification from an ultra-competitive 5-4A league where the likes of Bears, Cherokees, Mustangs and Owls roam, the Trojans have quietly pieced together one of the area’s best record by bullying their new district mates to the tune of 102 runs while allowing just 20 in a perfect 8-0 start in District 6-3A outings.

“It’s a good league, but we’ve really preached to them from day one to play the game stress free, and I think it shows in our approach.

We try to get our money’s worth with every at-bat, and we’ve been pretty loose all season,” said Higgins.

Monday night, however, was one of the few games Soddy Daisy had any reason to feel stressed in the league, but its approach nonetheless paid off as the Trojans edged a scrappy Hixson club 6-5 to move to 9-0 in league play.

“That’s the Monday and Tuesday night games you come to expect after so many years. Hixson battled. They matched us all night long, but we just kept trying to put the pressure on them to the end,” Higgins added.

It was the closest league game the Trojans have been involved in thus far, and when it was at its most pressurized point, Higgins turned a freshman pitcher to turn out the lights on the win. Carson Flint relieved starter Aaron Watson in the sixth with a one-run lead and proceeded to retire six of the final seven Wildcat hitters to notch the save.

But it didn’t come without stress. Hixson, which had battled back from an early 4-0 deficit, hit two deep fly balls in the sixth that were hauled in near the fence. Hixson’s Cooper Bailey led off the seventh with a deep double before Flint struck out the final three hitters, including the final one with a tying run on third after pinch runner Maddox Trotter made a daring steal of third to get within 90 feet of home.

“He’s 15-years-old, and stands about 5-foot-6, but is throwing in the mid-80s out there. We saw glimpses of how good he was early in the preseason and have gradually brought him along. We have a lot of confidence in him, even in that situation. He goes at people and he’s not afraid, and he knows he has eight guys out there backing him up,” Higgins praised the youngster.

The Wildcats (9-14, 7-4) fell behind in the first as the first two Trojan hitters reached on fielding errors before Watson laced a two-run single. Drew Lewis added an RBI-ground out and Eli Hixson a run-scoring double as Soddy Daisy sent 11 men to the plate to stake a 4-0 lead.

It was obvious from the get-go, though; the Wildcats were not going to go into the chilly night quietly. Hixson got one run back in the first with a pair of hits, including Kane Johnson’s double which put runners at second and third. A swinging strikeout of a pitch in the dirt recorded the second out, but the throw to first to complete the play allowed Cole Shackelford to score from third before the relay throw.

Soddy Daisy (17-4, 9-0) got that run back with a big two-out homer from Noah Ferguson in the second, and when Hixson pushed across three in the third inning to pull within 5-4, the Trojans got another two-out rally to push across the eventual deciding run in the fourth. It was Ferguson again with the rally starter; this time an infield hit which was followed by a walk and a fielding error which allowed Ferguson to score.

“I just try to block everything out. They give you three outs in an inning for a reason, and when you have two outs and nobody on, you just do whatever you can to get the next man to the plate. I was aggressive in the second inning, and I was looking for a fastball, and I got it. I knew as soon as I hit it, it was gone,” Ferguson said of the 340-foot poke.

Hixson ruined what was a nice outing for Watson, the Trojan starter, by scoring three in the third fourth with three of four hits not making it out of the infield. A walk started it before Shackelford singled to shortstop. Johnson hit the only solid ball in the inning for his second hit before Nic Castro singled to the first base side for an RBI and Bailey scored one with a swinging bunt. A bases-loaded hit by pitch got the third run across.

“Aaron pitched really well for us tonight, but we sorta took away from it by not getting outs in the infield and put a smudge on his performance with a few errors in the fourth,” Higgins said.

Three straight errors on ground balls in the fourth brought Hixson to within 6-5 and Castro kept it there for Hixson with three solid innings of relief, striking out seven in the span. Castro allowed just a bunt single and worked around an error in the sixth to give the Wildcats a chance.

Unfortunately, Flint was up to the task and matched him with two scoreless innings.

Ferguson led the Trojans with three hits while Hixson got two each from Bailey, Shackelford and Johnson. The two will meet again at Soddy Daisy on Tuesday.

 

 

SODDY DAISY          410 100 0 –   6 7 4

HIXSON                     103 100 0 –   5 9 4

Watson, Flint (6) and James; Johnson, Castro (5) and Lott.

 

(Contact James Beach at 1134james@gmail.com)