MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Taking advantage nine free passes and a pair of fielding miscues by Cleveland, Region 4 champ Blackman forced a third and deciding game with the Blue Raiders after a Friday double up to even the TSSAA Sectional, in Murfreesboro.
After Cleveland took Thursday's opener 2-1, the Blaze came away with a 10-5 win in Game 2, forcing a rubber game Saturday afternoon to determine which team would advance to the TSSAA Spring Fling this week.
Four straight one-out walks and a pair of wild pitches put up three runs of a Blackman 4-spot in the top of the second to take a lead it would never surrender.
A hit batsman and an error led to two more scores for the Blaze (28-10) in the fourth frame, putting the Raiders in a 6-0 hole.
Cleveland (28-12) was able to pick up a solo score in the fifth, taking advantage of a trio of free passes, but could only get one home on a sacrifice fly by junior Collin Stuart.
The Raiders did battle back for four more runs in the bottom of the sixth to close the gap to a single score.
After junior catcher Caden Tippens "took one for the team" to open the at bat and gave way to courtesy runner Braleyn Pratt, Roane State signee Tyler Gardner and fellow senior Charley Atha followed with back-to-back singles, the latter of which drove in Pratt.
After junior Owen Goglio was "plunked" to load the bases, Jayden Bates was given a four-pitch RBI base on balls.
District 5-4A Player of the Year River Briggs came through with a run-scoring single before Goglio scored the final run of the rally on a double-play ground out by sophomore Sam Coleman.
Blackman responded to the Raider charge with four more runs in the top of the seventh to put the game away.
Briggs reached base three times, with a single and a pair of walks, while Tippens, Gardner and Atha each stroked a pair of one-base knocks as Cleveland out hit the Blaze 8-7.
GAME SUMMARY
TSSAA Class 4A
Sectionals
best-of-3
Game 2
Friday, May 15
at Murfreesboro
Blackman 040 200 4 — 10 7 0
Cleveland 000 014 0 — 5 8 2
WP: Andy Beveridge 4.1 IP, 1 K, 4 BB, 1 HBP, 2 hits, 1 ER. LP: Owen Goglio 3 IP, 0 Ks, 7 BB, 4 HBP, 1 hit, 4 ER. RBI: Kenneth Colon 2, Max Willcox 2, Mitchell Cunningham 2 (B); River Briggs, Collin Stuart, Charley Atha, Jayden Bates (C). RECORDS: Cleveland 28-12; Blackman 28-10.
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