SPORTS

County places eight on TSWA all-state baseball team

Tom Kreager
tkreager@dnj.com

MURFREESBORO – Central Magnet and Riverdale had their best baseball seasons in school history in 2014.

Today, the two Murfreesboro programs lead the county's representation on the Tennessee Sports Writers Association's all-state baseball teams with a combined five of the eight area players on the team.

Riverdale, which reached the TSSAA Class AAA state tournament's Final Four, placed two on the Class AAA All-State team in shortstop Drew Huff and pitcher/first baseman Brady Puckett.

Riverdale's Drew Huff gets congratulated by his teammates after scoring a run in the second inning of the game against Oakland at Riverdale on Monday, March 24, 2014.

Huff, who was The Daily News Journal's 2014 Position Player of the Year, hit .441 with 40 runs scored, 14 doubles and 22 RBI this past season. He is also a recent MTSU commitment and the District 7-AAA MVP. Puckett, a Lipscomb signee and MLB draft pick of the New York Mets, hit .311 with six home runs and 33 RBI. He also was 6-1 on the mound with a 1.51 ERA.

Central Magnet, which reached the TSSAA Class AA state tournament's Final Four, placed three on the Class AA All-State team in pitcher Alex Ropp, shortstop Darek Sargent and outfielder McKenzie Jackson.

Ropp, who was the District 8-AA Pitcher of the Year, was 9-2 on the mound with a 1.06 ERA and 89 strikeouts. He also hit .378 with 11 doubles and 34 RBI. Sargent, who was the District 8-AA Co-MVP with Jackson, hit .437 with 21 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 46 RBI. Jackson hit .394 with six doubles, seven triples and six home runs.

Also on the Class AAA team were Blackman pitcher Austin Reynolds and Siegel third baseman Blake Benefield.

Siegel's Blake Benefield batting against Oakland Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at Siegel.

Reynolds, who was The DNJ's Pitcher of the Year and District 7-AAA Right-handed pitcher of the year, went 5-1 with two saves and 69 strikeouts. He had a 0.69 ERA. Reynolds has signed with Columbia State.

Benefield, an MTSU commitment hit .397 with 12 doubles, a triple, three home runs and 33 RBI.

MTCS' Philip Bonabi is on the Class A team as an infielder. Bonabi hit .376 this season with 12 doubles, two triples and 21 RBI. He also scored 30 runs. He was 6-5 on the mound with a 1.36 ERA and 61 strikeouts.

Contact Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168 or tkreager@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kreager.