CLEVELAND, Tenn. — A combined one-hit shutout gave Bradley Central its 10th straight win, including a perfect 5-0 District 6-4A mark after stopping Ooltewah for the second time Wednesday, at the McKenzie Baseball Complex.
A game-opening single to Brock Smallen was the lone Owl hit as Bryan College signee Josh Leek (4-2, 1.75 ERA) and Cleveland State signee Brody Casteel (6 saves, 2.77) shut them down the rest of the 6-0 victory for veteran "Papa Bear" Travis Adams' sleuth.
The teams will gather again Thursday evening, back in Ooltewah, where the Bears won 3-2 Monday.
The Owls (3-16, 2-3 District 6-4A) will entertain Baylor Friday, while Bradley (12-6, 5-0) will square off with East Hamilton Monday at home to open a three-game series.
Opening the scoring in their first at bat, the Bears put a trio of runs on the board to take command.
Lee University signee Alex Brew opened the Bradley surge with a single, followed by a walk to Jaxon Humble.
On the eve of signing a football scholarship with UTC, Luke Keith drove in the first run with a single to right field.
After a strike out, Cleveland State signee Hank Adams plated the next run with a sac fly.
The final score came on a dropped third strike, with Keith scoring on the wild pitch.
After a trio of scorless frames, Bradley put up a pair of scores in the fifth frame.
Keith kicked off the rally with a double, before a single by Adams put runners on the corners and sophomore Tyler Cook followed with a RBI-hit of his own.
The younger Adams raced home on a fielder's choice by Bronson Stone for the other run.
Leek helped his own cause in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out hit to plate teammate Jonathan Alomar, who had singled.
Despite giving up the game-opening hit, Leek tossed six shutout innings, recording 10 strikeouts and issuing just three walks.
Although not entering in a save opportunity, Casteel set the Owls down in order in the top of the seventh.
Keith had a pair of hits, plus scored twice, while Leek and Cook both reached twice with a single and a walk.
Game Summary
District 6-4A
Wednesday, April 10
at McKenzie Baseball Complex
Ooltewah 000 000 0 — 0 1 0
Bradley Central 300 021 x — 6 8 1
Parr, Trent (6) and Fields; Leek, Casteel (7) and Stott.
WP: Leek. LP: Parr.
Records: Ooltewah 3-16, 2-3 District; Bradley Central 12-6, 5-0 District 6-4A.
(Email Joe Cannon at joe.cannon@clevelandbanner.com)