Science Hill, Daniel Boone Fall in Region 1-AAAA Openers
It’ll be an all-District 2 affair for the Region 1-AAAA title Saturday afternoon after Sevier County and Morristown West rolled by Science Hill and Daniel Boone Friday evening at Wild West Park.
Matching up against the Hilltoppers in a region contest for a fourth time in his career, Smoky Bear left-hander Brady Scott evened his personal score with an 8-2 victory in the opener while Trojan right-hander Paxton Seal limited the ‘Blazers to just three hits in a 12-2 five inning thumping.
Scott, a Walters State signee, struck out ten and scattered nine hits, but walked just one.
“Brady pitched the way we expected him to pitch,” said Sevier County coach Casey Taylor. “He’s good guys. He’s a winner. He is a guy that we rely on, trust, feel comfortable with.
“That’s a good (Science Hill) line-up. Tennessee Tech, ETSU guys, Walters State kids. That shows you how good Scott is to keep those guys in check. He thrives in those moments.”
Scott also gave the Smoky Bears the early lead with a two-run single in the first.
“One of our objectives coming in was to score first…at all costs,” added Taylor. “If that meant we had to give up some outs to advance some runners, if that meant we had to gamble with some decisions and take some shots, we were going to try to find a way to get on the board first.”
The Bears blew the game open with four runs in the fourth, chasing starter Major Osbolt in the process. The ‘Toppers managed just one more run off Scott the rest of the way.
“When you give (Scott) a lead like that, it makes it even tougher,” said Science Hill coach Ryan Edwards. “We’ve faced him every year since his freshman season. I think he beat us his freshman year and we had to fight and scrap and pitch really well to beat him the other years. Today, he got the best of us for sure.”
The only thing Scott wasn’t able to do was record the final out, running out of pitches with a 1-1 count on Osbolt in the sixth.
“To be sure we didn’t screw it up, we held him right under (120),” cautioned Taylor. “You could tell he was aware out there in the final inning.”
The ‘Toppers were also keeping a wary eye on the toss count of relievers Hagan Gibson, Austin Denham and Sam Royston, none of which went past the mark that would rendered them ineligible today.
Sam Lane, Jackson Berry and Josh Marmo all had two hits for Science Hill. Lucas Dye and Marmo drove in the two ‘Topper runs.
Sevier County rapped out 14 hits in the win, three each coming in the first, third and fourth innings. Karsen Martin and rifle-armed catcher Bridger Hamilton collect three apiece. Martin tripled, drove in one run and scored three times while Hamilton scored twice.
In the nightcap, the Trojans scored five runs in the third and fourth innings to run-rule the ‘Blazers.
Boone starter Brayden Blankenship departed after the third, having allowed the first six runs.
“Blankenship is not 100% and I think that’s pretty obvious,” said Boone coach Scott Hagy. “He gave us everything he had. We put some young kids in there hoping to keep them off-balance a little bit. They didn’t throw strikes and we let it get away.”
Meanwhile, Seal worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the top of the first, limiting Boone to a single run. Seal struck out nine, walked three and hit one.
“Paxton was outstanding,” said Morristown West coach Justin Pickett. “I knew if we could establish the breaking ball and pitch to both sides of the plate, we were in pretty good shape with his velocity. His off-speed stuff allows his velocity to really jump up.”
A Chandler Justice ground out scored the Boone run in the first. Jackson Utsman roped a solo homer in the fourth
West leadoff hitter Gavin Mitchell reached on all four trips, going 3-for-3 with a walk, and scoring three runs. Malakhi Isom and Seal also drove in a pair of runs. Bryson Shepard homered in the third.
Morristown West (26-7) and Sevier County (23-8) will meet at noon Saturday for the Region 1-4A title. The Trojans have won three of the four meetings this season.
Science Hill (30-11) and Daniel Boone (21-9) will meet in an elimination game at 3:00 p.m.
The winner will also need to defeat the West-Sevier loser at 6:00 p.m. to claim the region runner-up spot and the second spot in next week’s sectional round.
“We’ve got the pitcher to make a run at this,” said Science Hill’s Edwards.
The ‘Toppers have won three of five games against the ‘Blazers this season. The home teams has won each of the five as well.
“We’ve got our guys that we are planning on throwing tomorrow,” noted Boone’s Hagy. “Obviously, we know who we are facing. We’ll see on a neutral field how this thing pans out. Both of us are pretty good on our fields, but this is neutral, so we’ll see.”
Sevier County 8, Science Hill 2
Sevier County – Brady Scott, Analin Floyd (7) and Bridger Hamilton; Sevier County – Major Osbolt, Hagan Gibson (4), Austin Denham (5), Sam Royston (6) and Aiden Vemillion. W – Brady Scott, L – Major Osbolt. 2B – Eli Koch, Sevier County; Josh Marmo, Science Hill. 3B – Karson Martin, Sevier County. RBI – Sevier County 7 (Brady Scott 2, Karson Martin, Eli Koch, Knox Kremblas, Christian Hoffman, Jacob Greene); Science Hill 2 (Josh Marmo, Lucas Dye). SB – Sevier County 2 (Bridger Hamilton, Britt St. Clair). LOB - Sevier County 11, Science Hill 8
Morristown West 12, Daniel Boone 2
Daniel Boone – Brayden Blankenship, Braden Gore (4), Slader Tinker (4), Jacob Carr (5) and Jackson Utsman. Morristown West – Paxton Seal and Cody Blair. W – Paxton Seal, L – Brayden Blankenship. 2B – Gavin Mitchell, Morristown West; Paxton Seal, Morristown West; Charle DeWald, Morristown West. HR – Bryson Shepard, Morristown West (solo in 3rd); Jackson Utsman, Daniel Boone (solo in 4th). RBI – Daniel Boone 2 (Chandler Justice, Jackson Utsman), Morristown West 10 (Malakhi Isom 2, Paxton Seal 2, Connor Rouse 2, Gavin Mitchell, Bryson Shepard, Jordan Watson, Charlie DeWald). SB – Daniel Boone 3 (Graham Jones, Chandler Justice, Slader Tink); Morristown West 2 (Malakhi Isom, Undah Marsingill). LOB - Daniel Boone 6, Morristown West 6.
Matching up against the Hilltoppers in a region contest for a fourth time in his career, Smoky Bear left-hander Brady Scott evened his personal score with an 8-2 victory in the opener while Trojan right-hander Paxton Seal limited the ‘Blazers to just three hits in a 12-2 five inning thumping.
Scott, a Walters State signee, struck out ten and scattered nine hits, but walked just one.
“Brady pitched the way we expected him to pitch,” said Sevier County coach Casey Taylor. “He’s good guys. He’s a winner. He is a guy that we rely on, trust, feel comfortable with.
“That’s a good (Science Hill) line-up. Tennessee Tech, ETSU guys, Walters State kids. That shows you how good Scott is to keep those guys in check. He thrives in those moments.”
Scott also gave the Smoky Bears the early lead with a two-run single in the first.
“One of our objectives coming in was to score first…at all costs,” added Taylor. “If that meant we had to give up some outs to advance some runners, if that meant we had to gamble with some decisions and take some shots, we were going to try to find a way to get on the board first.”
The Bears blew the game open with four runs in the fourth, chasing starter Major Osbolt in the process. The ‘Toppers managed just one more run off Scott the rest of the way.
“When you give (Scott) a lead like that, it makes it even tougher,” said Science Hill coach Ryan Edwards. “We’ve faced him every year since his freshman season. I think he beat us his freshman year and we had to fight and scrap and pitch really well to beat him the other years. Today, he got the best of us for sure.”
The only thing Scott wasn’t able to do was record the final out, running out of pitches with a 1-1 count on Osbolt in the sixth.
“To be sure we didn’t screw it up, we held him right under (120),” cautioned Taylor. “You could tell he was aware out there in the final inning.”
The ‘Toppers were also keeping a wary eye on the toss count of relievers Hagan Gibson, Austin Denham and Sam Royston, none of which went past the mark that would rendered them ineligible today.
Sam Lane, Jackson Berry and Josh Marmo all had two hits for Science Hill. Lucas Dye and Marmo drove in the two ‘Topper runs.
Sevier County rapped out 14 hits in the win, three each coming in the first, third and fourth innings. Karsen Martin and rifle-armed catcher Bridger Hamilton collect three apiece. Martin tripled, drove in one run and scored three times while Hamilton scored twice.
In the nightcap, the Trojans scored five runs in the third and fourth innings to run-rule the ‘Blazers.
Boone starter Brayden Blankenship departed after the third, having allowed the first six runs.
“Blankenship is not 100% and I think that’s pretty obvious,” said Boone coach Scott Hagy. “He gave us everything he had. We put some young kids in there hoping to keep them off-balance a little bit. They didn’t throw strikes and we let it get away.”
Meanwhile, Seal worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the top of the first, limiting Boone to a single run. Seal struck out nine, walked three and hit one.
“Paxton was outstanding,” said Morristown West coach Justin Pickett. “I knew if we could establish the breaking ball and pitch to both sides of the plate, we were in pretty good shape with his velocity. His off-speed stuff allows his velocity to really jump up.”
A Chandler Justice ground out scored the Boone run in the first. Jackson Utsman roped a solo homer in the fourth
West leadoff hitter Gavin Mitchell reached on all four trips, going 3-for-3 with a walk, and scoring three runs. Malakhi Isom and Seal also drove in a pair of runs. Bryson Shepard homered in the third.
Morristown West (26-7) and Sevier County (23-8) will meet at noon Saturday for the Region 1-4A title. The Trojans have won three of the four meetings this season.
Science Hill (30-11) and Daniel Boone (21-9) will meet in an elimination game at 3:00 p.m.
The winner will also need to defeat the West-Sevier loser at 6:00 p.m. to claim the region runner-up spot and the second spot in next week’s sectional round.
“We’ve got the pitcher to make a run at this,” said Science Hill’s Edwards.
The ‘Toppers have won three of five games against the ‘Blazers this season. The home teams has won each of the five as well.
“We’ve got our guys that we are planning on throwing tomorrow,” noted Boone’s Hagy. “Obviously, we know who we are facing. We’ll see on a neutral field how this thing pans out. Both of us are pretty good on our fields, but this is neutral, so we’ll see.”
Sevier County 8, Science Hill 2
Sevier County | 201 | 400 | 1 | -- | 8 | 14 | 0 |
Science Hill | 001 | 001 | 0 | -- | 2 | 9 | 1 |
Sevier County – Brady Scott, Analin Floyd (7) and Bridger Hamilton; Sevier County – Major Osbolt, Hagan Gibson (4), Austin Denham (5), Sam Royston (6) and Aiden Vemillion. W – Brady Scott, L – Major Osbolt. 2B – Eli Koch, Sevier County; Josh Marmo, Science Hill. 3B – Karson Martin, Sevier County. RBI – Sevier County 7 (Brady Scott 2, Karson Martin, Eli Koch, Knox Kremblas, Christian Hoffman, Jacob Greene); Science Hill 2 (Josh Marmo, Lucas Dye). SB – Sevier County 2 (Bridger Hamilton, Britt St. Clair). LOB - Sevier County 11, Science Hill 8
Morristown West 12, Daniel Boone 2
Daniel Boone | 100 | 10 | -- | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Morristown West | 105 | 51 | -- | 12 | 12 | 0 |
Daniel Boone – Brayden Blankenship, Braden Gore (4), Slader Tinker (4), Jacob Carr (5) and Jackson Utsman. Morristown West – Paxton Seal and Cody Blair. W – Paxton Seal, L – Brayden Blankenship. 2B – Gavin Mitchell, Morristown West; Paxton Seal, Morristown West; Charle DeWald, Morristown West. HR – Bryson Shepard, Morristown West (solo in 3rd); Jackson Utsman, Daniel Boone (solo in 4th). RBI – Daniel Boone 2 (Chandler Justice, Jackson Utsman), Morristown West 10 (Malakhi Isom 2, Paxton Seal 2, Connor Rouse 2, Gavin Mitchell, Bryson Shepard, Jordan Watson, Charlie DeWald). SB – Daniel Boone 3 (Graham Jones, Chandler Justice, Slader Tink); Morristown West 2 (Malakhi Isom, Undah Marsingill). LOB - Daniel Boone 6, Morristown West 6.
VIDEO GALLERY
