Baseball
Friday, May 25, 2001
La Vergne edges Riverdale
Source: The Daily News Journal- Murfreesboro
CLEVELAND — The battle of Rutherford County between La Vergne and Riverdale didn’t disappoint baseball fans Thursday at Olympic Field on the campus of Lee University.
Because both teams lost on Wednesday, their seasons were on the line. In the end, a single run separated both teams, as La Vergne (26-14) triumphed 1-0 at the Class AAA state baseball tournament.
With the win, La Vergne stayed alive to face the loser of the Farragut/Germantown game today at Lee University. The Farragut/Germantown game was rained out and will be played today at 11:30 a.m.
“It’s a backyard brawl,” La Vergne’s Draper Oakley said. “I hate to eliminate them, but I don’t want to lose. Unfortunately, somebody’s got to lose.”
Oakley (8-4) surrendered four hits and walked five in a complete-game victory. Travis Wilson (6-3) went the distance for Riverdale (30-15), striking out seven and giving up only three hits.
Chris Camp scored the game’s only run in the second inning on a wild pitch. Camp was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on an error. Jeremy Rowe advanced him to third with a single.
“I didn’t think the game would come down to a wild pitch,” La Vergne coach Craig Reavis said. “I thought there would be more hitting.”
There wasn’t much hitting.
La Vergne connected for only two more hits after the second. Camp had a double in the fourth inning, and Matthew Dillard delivered a single in the sixth.
“They both did a great job,” La Vergne’s third baseman Joey Davidson said of Oakley and Wilson. “They didn’t allow anybody to hit the ball.”
Davidson made the biggest defensive play of the game in the sixth. With one out and runners on first and third, Riverdale’s Conor Maloney came to bat. He hit a bullet to Davidson, who fired the ball to Dillard at second. Dillard relayed the ball to Shea Diehl at first, completing the double play.
“I knew I had to stop it (the ball),” Davidson said of getting the double play. “I looked at second and saw that the runner wasn’t there yet. We got the big play.”
Riverdale, on the other hand, couldn’t get the big hit when necessary. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Riverdale had a chance to win the game.
Clint Alexander stepped to the plate and grounded out to shortstop Justin Fields. The ground out ended the Warriors’ season.
“We couldn’t get it,” Riverdale coach Buddy Powers said of not getting the big hits. “Give credit to Draper Oakley. We’ve been getting the big hits, but we didn’t today.”
Wilson pitched well for the Warriors. He fanned three batters in the second, while retiring La Vergne in order in the third, fifth and seventh.
“We couldn’t get anything together,” Wilson said. “We’d get men on, but we couldn’t get them home. We just couldn’t get the big hit.”
Matt Campbell hit a double for the Warriors. Wayne Kendrick, Greg Haag and Alexander each hit singles for Riverdale.
CLEVELAND — The battle of Rutherford County between La Vergne and Riverdale didn’t disappoint baseball fans Thursday at Olympic Field on the campus of Lee University.
Because both teams lost on Wednesday, their seasons were on the line. In the end, a single run separated both teams, as La Vergne (26-14) triumphed 1-0 at the Class AAA state baseball tournament.
With the win, La Vergne stayed alive to face the loser of the Farragut/Germantown game today at Lee University. The Farragut/Germantown game was rained out and will be played today at 11:30 a.m.
“It’s a backyard brawl,” La Vergne’s Draper Oakley said. “I hate to eliminate them, but I don’t want to lose. Unfortunately, somebody’s got to lose.”
Oakley (8-4) surrendered four hits and walked five in a complete-game victory. Travis Wilson (6-3) went the distance for Riverdale (30-15), striking out seven and giving up only three hits.
Chris Camp scored the game’s only run in the second inning on a wild pitch. Camp was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on an error. Jeremy Rowe advanced him to third with a single.
“I didn’t think the game would come down to a wild pitch,” La Vergne coach Craig Reavis said. “I thought there would be more hitting.”
There wasn’t much hitting.
La Vergne connected for only two more hits after the second. Camp had a double in the fourth inning, and Matthew Dillard delivered a single in the sixth.
“They both did a great job,” La Vergne’s third baseman Joey Davidson said of Oakley and Wilson. “They didn’t allow anybody to hit the ball.”
Davidson made the biggest defensive play of the game in the sixth. With one out and runners on first and third, Riverdale’s Conor Maloney came to bat. He hit a bullet to Davidson, who fired the ball to Dillard at second. Dillard relayed the ball to Shea Diehl at first, completing the double play.
“I knew I had to stop it (the ball),” Davidson said of getting the double play. “I looked at second and saw that the runner wasn’t there yet. We got the big play.”
Riverdale, on the other hand, couldn’t get the big hit when necessary. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Riverdale had a chance to win the game.
Clint Alexander stepped to the plate and grounded out to shortstop Justin Fields. The ground out ended the Warriors’ season.
“We couldn’t get it,” Riverdale coach Buddy Powers said of not getting the big hits. “Give credit to Draper Oakley. We’ve been getting the big hits, but we didn’t today.”
Wilson pitched well for the Warriors. He fanned three batters in the second, while retiring La Vergne in order in the third, fifth and seventh.
“We couldn’t get anything together,” Wilson said. “We’d get men on, but we couldn’t get them home. We just couldn’t get the big hit.”
Matt Campbell hit a double for the Warriors. Wayne Kendrick, Greg Haag and Alexander each hit singles for Riverdale.
