BRISTOL, Tenn. - Tennessee High’s memorable baseball season screeched to a forgettable halt in the losers’ bracket final of the District 1-AAA tournament on Sunday at Tod Houston Field.
The top-ranked Vikings (24-6) were no-hit by David Crockett, a team it had beaten by a combined score of 41-12 during a three-game sweep in the regular season.
Crockett (17-13), which defeated Tennessee High, 4-2, secured its first region berth since 2010 and will visit Elizabethton in the district championship on Monday.
Mason Grindstaff hadn’t faced Tennessee High during the regular season, but pitched five no-hit innings before being relieved by Connor Hendrix, who completed the seven-inning no-hitter.
Grindstaff, a left-handed senior that missed his junior season due to injury and is being recruited by Walters State, wasn’t razor sharp. He struck out seven, walked six and hit three batters. He hit one batter – Chandler Myers – with the bases loaded and none out in the bottom of the second.
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But Grindstaff rallied to get back-to-back strikeouts and an inning-ending fly-out – and Crockett still leading, 3-1.
“He was effective,” Tennessee High coach Preston Roberts said. “I don’t even wanna say effectively wild, because when he needed to make pitches, he made pitches, right. I know he walked some guys. We had base-runners on. We scored a couple of runs and didn’t even have a hit. But when he needed to make pitches, it seemed like he always found a way.”
Crockett scored twice in the top of the first inning. Ronnie Hall was hit by a pitch on the game’s first delivery from Jimmy Phipps. Marcus Greenway followed with a single, and A.J. Ford and Nate Walters added tone-setting back-to-back RBI singles with one out.
“They’ve done it all year,” David Crockett head coach Spencer Street said. “I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
Hendrix was hit by a pitch to lead off the second and scored to make it 3-0 on Hall’s sacrifice fly.
“Knowing that they came out swinging, getting some fire on ‘em, it made me happy and it took a lot of the pressure off of me,” Grindstaff said. “There’s no better feeling than that to see my boys come out and be on fire at the start of the game.”
Tennessee High got within 3-2 in the fifth. Shortstop Gage Graziano drew a one-out walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on a wild pitch with two outs.
Crockett added an insurance run in the seventh. A.J. Ford delivered a one-out double after the Vikings failed to catch his pop-foul on the previous pitch.
Nate Walters followed with a line single to right, and courtesy runner Kaden Lyle came home on Ayden Mullikin’s bad-hop single.
Graziano led off the bottom of the seventh by reaching on an error. Ensuing batter Ashton Leonard, the Vikings cleanup hitter, worked the count to 2-2 before being called out on a third strike by Dale Ford.
Leonard looked on with shocked disbelief but said nothing. Roberts left the third base coach’s box to question the call and was promptly ejected.
“I had no problem with questioning the call. I’ll put it that way,” Roberts said.
Isaac Blevins followed with a walk to put the tying run at first, but Chandler Myers followed with a low pop-up that got Graziano doubled off second base to end it.
The loss, Roberts said, ultimately will be eclipsed by the season's accomplishments.
“Obviously, not the way you wanted to finish,” Roberts said. “You can’t take anything away from the accomplishments of these 10 seniors and what they’ve been able to do – probably the first undefeated regular season (in conference play). The ability to show up every day and compete has gotten us this far. This senior class has been a part of some special teams.
“I know it didn’t end up the way they wanted it to, but I told them there’s no reason to hang their head. They competed until the very end.”
Crockett’s Street was quick to credit Roberts’ program.
“I don’t think there’s a more complete baseball program this side of Knoxville than what they have going on,” Street said. “I put them up against the Science Hill’s and the Dobyns-Bennett’s. They don’t play perfect baseball, but gosh, they’re close.”
Crockett and Elizabethton will meet for the fifth time this season. The previous four meetings were all decided by one run. Elizabethton won three of those, including a win in the first round of the district.
“We’ve got some unsettled business to go try and finish,” Street said, “and I know they’re pumped up about that.”
David Crockett 210 000 1 -- 4 10 1
Tennessee High 010 010 0 -- 2 0 1
Grindstaff, Hendrix (6) and Whaley. Phipps, Harris (2), Lambert (6) and Meyers. W—Grindstaff. L—Phipps.