A year after upset, Goodpasture baseball, coach Jim Carter win state championship

MURFREESBORO – The tears began to flow shortly after the final out was recorded.

Goodpasture baseball coach Jim Carter wiped the moisture from his eyes as he walked to wife Heather and daughter Rylee for a hug after the Cougars run-ruled Northpoint Christian 12-1 Friday at Middle Tennessee Christian School in the Division II-A state championship game.

For a coach who had won more than 600 games at stops at Jackson Christian, Hunters Lane, Davidson Academy, Mt. Juliet and now Goodpasture, this win was the biggest in his career. It was the first state title for Jim, the son of former TSSAA executive director Ronnie Carter.

"It's never been about me," said Jim, who was doused with grape Gatorade and water by his team after the game and later did the popular dance The Griddy for his team during postgame celebration. "It's about these kids, their families, our program and our school and the opportunity we have every day to glorify God. We hope we do that even when we lose."

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Carter had three teams finish state runner-up — Jackson Christian in 2000, Davidson Academy in 2008 and Goodpasture in 2017.

This team was the best he's coached. The Cougars finished the season 41-5 and claimed the program's ninth state championship, but first since 2012.

They did it with dominant hitting and pitching. The Cougars hit eight home runs in the tournament, including three from Tennessee commitment Carson Rucker, who received the TBCA Division II-A Mr. Baseball Award prior to the start of the state tournament.

"Carson Rucker is a special human being," Carter said. "He's a special player, but an even better person. When your better players are your best people, it makes coming to work a lot easier."

Tanner Lane hit a pair of homers, including one in the championship game. And Logan Harrell picked up a win in Tuesday's opening day of the tournament and then in the championship game.

The championship came a year after Goodpasture was among the favorites to win the 2021 title. The Cougars went 31-5 before losing two straight games in the Division II-A Middle Region tournament by a combined score of 8-0 in losses to CPA and Middle Tennessee Christian.

"This journey started 387 days ago," Jim said. "That's a fact. When we got put out — and it was a fast exit — we went into our clubhouse and we stayed there for 45 minutes. We shared emotion with each other and pride.

"We all made a deal when we walked out of that clubhouse that we had moved on to the next thing. We were going to own it and move forward."

But they never forgot the loss. It was used as motivation this season throughout the season and in the tournament. Shirts were made as a reminder.

"It was just so much pain for us," said Harrell, who picked up the win in the championship and came after Northpoint Christian beat Goodpasture 7-6 to force an if-necessary title game. "We couldn't let it happen again."

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.