Dobyns-Bennett Opens State Tournament Against Blackman
by STEVE WILMOTH
TriCitiesSports.com
May 22, 2017
Dobyns-Bennett opens play in the TSSAA Class AAA State Baseball Tournament tonight at 7:30 p.m. EDT against Blackman at Siegel High School.
The Siegel pod opens with Brentwood (26-10) taking on Munford (21-16) at 5:00 p.m.
The losers’ will face off Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m. in an elimination game while the winners will return for a match-up at 1:30 p.m. Another elimination contest will wrap Wednesday’s action at 6:00 p.m.
While the Indians (28-11) will be playing in their third state tournament in five years, it’s the first for the Blaze since 2009.
“We know that Blackman is a quality club,” said Dobyns-Bennett coach Ryan Wagner. “They’ve played a very tough schedule just like us and it’s helped both us get here.”
Blackman faced Class AAA state tournament squads in its first four games, three district games against Stewarts Creek and a weekend contest against Beech.
The Blaze (28-10) finished 16-2 in district play, but lost its first district tournament contest to Riverdale, 4-0, before bouncing back with wins over Oakland, 8-3, and Riverdale, 3-1.
Stewarts Creek, however, earned the District 7-AAA title with a 3-1 decision over the ‘Blaze. Defending state champion Siegel, with a host of returning starters, failed to make it out of the District 7-AAA Tournament.
“That tells you a lot about how good Blackman is,” added Wagner. “If you want to come out of that district, you have to be very good.”
Last week, Blackman got 5-2, eight-inning win over Franklin County in the Region 4-AAA semi-finals and then won at Stewarts Creek, 6-0, in the championship game. The Blaze advanced to the state tournament with a 4-1 sectional win over Walker Valley.
As it was last week, pitching has been a strength for Blackman all season. In 38 games, the Blaze Staff tossed six shutouts and allowed three runs or fewer in 25 games. Only four times all season, did opponents plate more than five runs.
Both teams have surrendered just 14 runs in the post-season and both allowed just three all last week.
“You get to this point and everybody has several good arms,” noted Wagner. “The new pitch count rule thought will favor the deeper staffs. You won’t win the state tournament anymore with just one or two good pitchers.”
Blackman senior ace D.J. Wright went 6 1/3 innings against Walker Valley, allowing five hits and an unearned run. Jacob Jones tossed a three-hit shutout in the regional championship game.
Offensively, the teams also appear very similar.
In the sectional win over the Mustangs, Blackman produced two runs on a single sacrifice fly and used four bunts, including a suicide squeeze to facilitate four more.
The Blaze can also produce runs the conventional way as well. Senior catcher Peyton Miller was 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two runs batted in last Wednesday against Stewarts Creek. Zavion Lindsey also had two hits and Linsey, Wright, Derick Junker and Connor Williams all drove in runs.
Oakland High School hosts the bottom half of the bracket with Beech (31-9) taking on Jefferson County (25-9) at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday followed by Stewarts Creek (30-8) tangling with Houston (25-16) at 7:3 p.m.
All Dobyns-Bennett games in the state tournament will be carried live on ESPN Tri-Cities Radio, 94.3 FM and 1400 AM in Kingsport, 97.7 FM and 1590 AM in Johnson City, 98.1 FM and 1490 AM in Bristol and around the world on espntricities.com and the Tune-In Radio app, keyword search ‘WKPT’.
2017 TSSAA Class AAA State Baseball Tournament
Tuesday, May 23
at Siegel High School
Game 1 – Brentwood (26-10) vs Munford (21-16), 5:00 p.m.
Game 2 – Dobyns-Bennett (28-11) vs Blackman (28-10), 7:30 p.m.
at Oakland High School
Game 3 – Beech (31-9) vs Jefferson County (25-9), 5:00 p.m.
Game 4 – Stewarts Creek (30-8) vs Houston (25-16), 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 24
at Siegel High School
Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser, 11:00 a.m.
Game 7 – Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game 9 – Game 5 winner vs Game 7 loser, 6:00 p.m.
at Oakland High School
Game 6 – Game 3 loser vs Game 4 loser, 11:00 a.m.
Game 8 – Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game 10 – Game 6 winner vs Game 8 loser, 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 25
at Siegel High School
Game 11 – Game 7 winner vs Game 9 winner, 3:00 p.m.
Game 13 – Game 7 winner vs Game 9 winner, if necessary, 5:30 p.m.
at Oakland High School
Game 12 – Game 8 winner vs Game 10 winner, 3:00 p.m.
Game 14 – Game 8 winner vs Game 10 winner, if necessary, 5:30 p.m.
Friday, May 26
at Middle Tennessee State University
Championship, 6:00 p.m.