We all know to expect the unexpected when district tournaments begin.
That was surely the case at Soddy Daisy’s Tom Higgins Field Wednesday afternoon where the District 6-AAA baseball tournament got underway with the first game in the Best of Three series for the semifinals.
The first game featured the Signal Mountain Eagles, a team seeded second coming in and the Red Bank Lions, who entered play as the third seed.
Both of these teams had split during the regular season, but the Eagles got the higher seed based on the run differential.
Seedings mean very little when you have two teams as equally matched as these two. But when all was said and done shortly after 7 p.m., it was Red Bank with the early 1-0 advantage in the Best of Three series after a 5-1 victory.
Top-seeded Soddy Daisy had a battle on their hands with fourth-seeded Hixson. The Wildcats led the entire game before the Trojans pulled out the win with four runs in the bottom of the seventh.
The second game for both of these series will be played on Thursday night. A third game, if necessary, would be played on Friday with the championship set for 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Should there be a sweep at this point, the championship game would be played on Friday at 6.
Red Bank coach Matt Roberson has done an incredible job of turning things around in the Lions program as this is just his third year on the job. He’s as passionate as anyone and nobody wants to win any more than him.
“Our job isn’t finished,” he blurted after a post-game chat with his guys after they improved to 18-16 with the win.
“This is a big step in the right direction and it’s really nice to start a best of three series up 1-0. We got the early run, but I knew that one wouldn’t be enough. Sean Brune is a crafty righty who did a nice job pitching around some defensive adversity.
“But I’m really proud of how we battled back after Signal tied the game in the fifth,” Roberson smiled.
Brune is just a 17-year-old junior, but he’s been the man on the hill for the Lions and just got named District 6-AAA Pitcher of the Year earlier in the week. He did a really nice job as he went the distance and only allowed the one unearned run on three hits while walking two and striking out four.
Perhaps his best pitching came in the fourth when Brady Timblin walked with one out before Vance Wilburn doubled off the fence in deep center to put runners on second and third. Brune didn’t bat an eye as he fielded a hard grounder from Milo Bevis for the second out before getting Max Rackel on a fly to center to end the threat.
“I thought we did a nice job swinging the bats and I think we really came together as a team today,” Brune said afterward.
“Our defense could have been better, but that second run was huge and those three in the seventh really made me a lot more comfortable. Winning this first game is always important, but we just have to come back and do it again tomorrow,” he added.
Signal Mountain coach Josh Gandy didn’t dodge any bullets once this game had ended as he was quick to give credit where credit was due.
“Their pitcher did a great job and made good pitches when he had to have them. Red Bank had a few chances to score and they did. We had our chances too, but didn’t take advantage. But we get to play again tomorrow and we’ll see what happens,” he said after his team dropped to 17-14-1 for the season.
The Lions took an early lead when shortshop Anyer Alvarez swatted a solo homer with one out in the first inning.
It stayed 1-0 until the bottom of the fifth and that’s when the Eagles knotted the score. J.B. Zimmerman reached on an infield hit and advanced on a wild pitch. Bo Cooper was walked intentionally before Cash Keene reached on an infield boot that allowed Zimmerman to score.
Brune wasn’t fazed as he coaxed Timblin into a pop to second to end that threat.
And then in the seventh with a precarious 2-1 lead, the Lions broke things open with three insurance runs.
Brayden Stultz got hit to lead off and was sacrificed to second by Hayden Knam before pinch-hitter Calvin Bean walked. Then with two outs and a tense 3-2 count, Barkeloo drove in the next two with an infield single before Brune made it 5-1 with another run-scoring single.
Then with Brune facing the 8-9-1 hitters in the Signal lineup, he retired the side in order to end the game.
Alvarez, Brune and Briceno all had two hits for the Lions as they finished with nine for the game. There were no Eagles with more than one hit.
Brune was the winner as he went the distance while Carter Gayton took the loss for the Eagles after allowing two runs on six hits in six innings. He also had two walks and five strikeouts.
Bo Cooper pitched the final inning for the Eagles and allowed three runs on three hits, but the damage had been done before he took over.
RED BANK 100 001 3 – 5 9 3
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 000 010 0 – 1 3 0
Brune and Briceno; Gayton, Cooper (7) and Wilburn.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)