Bears back Black with 8-1 taming of Mustangs in 5-AAA final

Bradley baseball coach Travis Adams talks to his players as Bradley Central wins 6-3 over Ooltewah in the season opening game for both teams Monday, Mar. 9, 2015, in Cleveland, Tenn.
Bradley baseball coach Travis Adams talks to his players as Bradley Central wins 6-3 over Ooltewah in the season opening game for both teams Monday, Mar. 9, 2015, in Cleveland, Tenn.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Bradley Central's Dylan Standifer might have hit the ball the farthest Tuesday night, but the most important hit of the game went about 30 feet.

With runners on third and first and one out in the second inning, Bradley senior Preston Taylor laid down a picture-perfect suicide squeeze bunt that scored two runs when the throw to first went down the right-field line. Standifer followed two batters later with a towering 350-foot, three-run blast, and the Bears erupted for six runs in the inning.

That would prove to be more than enough, as sophomore pitcher Riley Black and the Bears shut down Walker Valley 8-1 at home to win the District 5-AAA tournament championship. Black threw a complete-game six-hitter, striking out five and walking three.

"We kind of live and die by that, but I trust my guys," Bradley Central coach Travis Adams said. "We wanted to steal a run right there, and we executed. I can call all of that stuff, but they have to execute the plays. That's what matters. That's part of winning in the postseason."

"Dylan's big hit was a big breather for everybody," Adams continued. "We usually score one or two an inning, and we have to manufacture those, so we'll take a home run when we can get one."

The Bears (22-11-1) scored two more times in the bottom of the third inning but were shut down through their final three at-bats by Mustangs reliever Jake Smith, who worked three perfect innings with six strikeouts.

Fortunately for the Bears, the early lead helped a nervous Black settle in, and his defense played flawlessly behind him even when the Mustangs did square up the ball.

"Honestly, I did feel a little pressure coming into the game," Black said. "Six runs early was definitely a confidence booster. At that moment I just tried to hit my spots and throw strikes."

"The six-run inning really relaxed us," Adams said. "(Black) kept his composure. He walked a few, but he never let the big damage occur. He got into a couple of jams but didn't give up the big hit."

The biggest of those jams came in the fifth inning, as Walker Valley (21-13) loaded the bases with one out. After Black started off with two balls to Mustangs No. 3 hitter Jordan Munck, pitching coach Matt Day made a trip to the mound.

"He was basically just calming me down," Black said. "He knows my mechanics and noticed I was throwing my shoulder open and not finishing."

Black bore down after the visit, striking out Munck and Caleb Lawhon to end the threat.

"I think he kind of let his foot off the gas for a little bit," Adams said. "He just told him to execute his pitches. Every pitch has a purpose. There's the pitch and the location; there's something behind it. I thought Coach Day did a good job of calling the game and keeping them off balance."

The win means that the Bears will host the District 6-AAA runner-up in the region playoffs, while Walker Valley will travel to the play the champion.

Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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