10 big things from Friday's baseball sectional games

Four area teams entered Friday's sectional round with Spring Fling on their minds, and three punched their tickets to the state.

Blackman knocked off Walker Valley 4-1 in a Class AAA sectional at Blackman while Stewarts Creek went on the road and pulled off a 10-inning, 6-4 win over Ooltewah in the other AAA sectional.

Central Magnet will battle in the state for the fifth straight season, scoring on an error in the final inning to defeat Chattanooga Central 6-5 in the Class AA sectional.

Eagleville ended its season with a 10-0 loss to Loretto in the Class A sectional.

All three teams will battle in Murfreesboro next week. Baseball begins Tuesday afternoon.

Here are 10 big things from Friday's action:

'Focused'

Blackman senior ace D.J. Wright was nearly unhittable through six innings Friday.

He scattered just two hits through the first six frames before Walker Valley attempted a sixth-inning rally.

He struck out five and allowed just an unearned run before exiting with one out in the top of the seventh after Walker Valley put runners at second and third.

"I didn't want to come out - I was focused," Wright said.

Birds of a different feather

Stewarts Creek's mascot is the Red Hawk, but it was a different fowl that helped rally the squad Friday.

In the top of the 10th, a flock of geese flew over Ooltewah's baseball stadium, which fired up the visitors, both in the dugout and the sstands.

A two-run rally ensued, helping the Red Hawks take the extra-inning win and capture their second straight state tourney berth.

“I think that’s one of the two or three best games I’ve ever coached in, and I’ve been doing this for over 30 years,” Stewarts Creek coach Mike Bartlett said. 

Wild walk-off

Central Magnet's Dylan Jenkins led off the seventh with a single, and the Tigers failed to bunt him to second He then stole second.

C.J. Campbell grounded out to first base and Chattanooga Central pitcher Walker Waters, who covered first, made an ill-advised throw to third to try to get Jenkins out as he rounded third.

The throw went over the head of third baseman Colby McKinney and over the fence on the third base side so Jenkins was able to advance to score the winning run.

Two for the price of one

Blackman got its scoring started Friday on a rare two-run sacrifice fly.

With bases loaded and no outs, Derick Junker hit a foul fly to right, which Mason Oran elected to make a diving catch, sliding into the fence. Two runs scored on the sacrifice fly, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish.

Triple the fun

Two Stewarts Creek triples in the top of the 10th helped account for the go-ahead runs at Ooltewah.

Tre Bailliez tripled to lead off the inning and he eventually scored on a dropped third strike and throw to first. Daniel Freeman then tripled and pinch runner Jake Alexander scored the insurance run on a groundout.

Thievery

Jenkins’ stolen base in the seventh for Central Magnet was the sixth of the game. The Tigers also used a stolen base to get into scoring position in the fifth, when they plated three runs.

“That’s how we’ve played throughout the year,” said Central Magnet coach Jason Patterson. “It probably goes back to me being a 5- or 6-year-old kid, listening to Jack Buck and Mike Shannon call Whitey Ball, back when I was a kid. I was a huge (St. Louis) Cardinals fan growing up, and I guess when I started doing this, I always wanted to play that style.”

Fundamentals

Blackman (28-10) did the little things right in its win over Walker Valley. The Blaze executed two sacrifice bunts by Mateo Lozano, scored on a suicide squeeze off the bat of Connor Mitchell for a key insurance run in the sixth. Michael Chuba also had a succesful sacrifice, in which he also reached on an error.

Blackman first baseman Zavien Lindsey had a big game for the Blaze. He singled and scored a run in second and ripped an RBI-single in the third before being intentionally walked his final at-bat.

Pitching duel

Central Magnet starter Chris Johnson and Chattanooga Central pitcher Waters were in a pitching duel for the first four innings of the game.

Waters retired 12 straight Central Magnet batters and struck out five. Johnson had three strikeouts in the first four innings and limited Chattanooga Central to only two hits through four innings. Chattanooga Central led 1-0 after four.

TSSAA spring sports statewide sectional schedule

Clutch hitting

Central Magnet scored three in the fifth and two in the sixth with clutch hitting by Campbell, who had two RBI, Parker Phillips, who had a sacrifice fly and Joey Hughes, who singled home a run.

Too much Weathers

Eagleville's baseball team concluded its most successful season since 2012 with a 10-0 loss at Loretto in the Class A sectional.

The Eagles (19-18) ran into a buzzsaw in Loretto ace Ryan Weathers, son of former Major Leaguer David Weathers.

Weathers struck out 14 in five innings, allowing just one hit.

Kenneth Schott contributed to this report. Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.