With softball player Maci Masters having graduated, someone else at Daniel Boone had to step up and assume the “Boone Blaster” role. No problem for Brayden Blankenship.
The senior has clubbed nine home runs this season, the most in Northeast Tennessee, to help the Trailblazers baseball team win the Big Four Conference outright. He’s batted in 34 runs while also earning five wins on the mound, accumulating a 2.12 earned run average.
Oh, and Blankenship is no longer on the market. He announced on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday he will continue his baseball career at junior college powerhouse Walters State.
Boone teammate Graham Jones is currently tied with Dobyns-Bennett’s Andrew Reilly for fifth on the home runs list with five. Tennessee High’s Ashton Leonard hit his sixth home run Monday night. Nathan Eisfelder (7), Josh Owens (6) and Rinaldo Matti (4) represented Providence Academy on the home run leaders list.
Northeast Tennessee’s two leaders for runs batted in both hail from Science Hill — Josh Marmo (43) and Jackson Berry (42). And fellow Hilltopper Landon Smelser leads NET in runs scored at 45.
GETTING THEIR POINT ACROSS
Of course, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see Hampton’s Chance Point at the top of the stolen bases category with 44. He’s already compiled the third-most steals in TSSAA history, after reaching the 125 mark on April 15.
And if that wasn’t enough, three Hampton players are batting more than .460 this season. Jayden Kuhn’s .605 batting average easily leads NET, while Point (.468) and Elisha Henson (.461) rank third and fourth behind Greeneville’s Carson Quillen (.495). All three Hampton players have accomplished the feat in at least 76 at-bats apiece.
PITCHING STANDOUTS
Unicoi County’s sensational sophomore Kolby Jones owns the best earned run average at 1.05, with Owens averaging an area-best 0.900 walks and hits per innings pitched for Providence.
Tennessee High’s Cainan Meyers leads NET in strikeouts with 74, just ahead of Volunteer’s Connor Haynes (71). West Greene’s Braden McCamey (67) also has the most pitching wins with seven.
On the web, stats can be viewed to the left (desktop version) or at the bottom (mobile version).
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