CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Kenwood High Knights traveled to Northwest High School to face the Vikings in a win or go home matchup. While Kenwood battled throughout the contest, Northwest High’s offense exploded leading to an 11-1 victory, which kept their season alive.
Early on, with the sun’s bright light coming in from left field, hitters struggled for each team. Meanwhile, Northwest starting pitcher Chase Hea-Knox kept opposing batters in check throughout the night. Hea-Knox only allowed two hits in five innings pitched with four strikeouts.
As for the Vikings offensive production, after the first few innings their offense started to roll. Northwest was led by catcher Brico Moore, who was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle after hitting 3-4 with a single, double and a triple. In the end, the Vikings put enough runs up to mercy rule Kenwood High. Northwest head coach Christopher Benne thinks it’s huge to get the bats hot now that the postseason has arrived.
“When you have an explosion like that offensively, it helps you at any point in the season, especially now,” Benne told Clarksville Now. “It will be good to carry this one into tomorrow.”
Even with their season coming to an end, Kenwood High head coach Branden Higginson was still proud of how his team battled in the elimination game.
“We fought, that’s my number one takeaway,” Higginson said. “We’ve had an up and down year, a lot of brand-new guys, and we constantly got better through the year and it showed tonight.”
As for the Vikings, they’ll travel to Henry County for a matchup with the top-seeded Patriots. They’ll be an underdog in the matchup, but as far as Benne is concerned, that’s a role they’re comfortable in.
“We’ve been the underdogs pretty much all year,” Benne said. “It’s a position that we’ve been in before, and we’re excited to get down there and play.”