A combined one-hit shutout gave Bradley Central its 10th straight win, including a perfect 5-0 District 6-4A mark after stopping Ooltewah for the second time Wednesday, at the McKenzie Baseball Complex.
A game-opening single to Brock Smallen was the lone Owl hit as Bryan College signee Josh Leek (4-2, 1.75 ERA) and Cleveland State signee Brody Casteel (6 saves, 2.77) shut them down the rest of the 6-0 victory for veteran "Papa Bear" Travis Adams' sleuth.
With Mother Nature still causing problems Thursday, the teams gathered after presstime Friday, back in Ooltewah, to conclude the series.
Bradley (12-6, 5-0 District 6-4A) will square off with East Hamilton Monday at home to open the final three-game district series of the regular season. The teams will meet in Collegedale Tuesday and back on Joe Adams Squeezeway Thursday.
Opening the scoring in their first at bat, the Bears put a trio of runs on the board to take command.
Lee University signee Alex Brew opened the Bradley surge with a single, followed by a walk to Jaxon Humble.
On the eve of signing a football scholarship with UTC, Luke Keith drove in the first run with a single to right field.
After a strike out, Cleveland State signee Hank Adams plated the next run with a sac fly.
The final score came on a dropped third strike, with Keith scoring on the wild pitch.
After a trio of scoreless frames, Bradley put up a pair of scores in the fifth frame.
Keith kicked off the rally with a double, before a single by Adams put runners on the corners and sophomore Tyler Cook followed with a RBI-hit of his own.
The younger Adams raced home on a fielder's choice by Bronson Stone for the other run.
Leek helped his own cause in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out hit to plate teammate Jonathan Alomar, who had singled.
Despite giving up the game-opening hit, Leek tossed six shutout innings, recording 10 strikeouts and issuing just three walks.
Although not entering in a save opportunity, Casteel set the Owls down in order in the top of the seventh.
Keith had a pair of hits, plus scored twice, while Leek and Cook both reached twice with a single and a walk.
Game Summary
District 6-4A
Wednesday, April 10
at McKenzie Baseball Complex
Ooltewah 000 000 0 — 0 1 0
Bradley Central 300 021 x — 6 8 1
WP: Josh Leek (4-2, 1.75 ERA) 6 IP, 1 hit, 10 Ks, 3 BB, 0 ER. LP: Luke Parr 5 IP, 6 hits, 8 Ks, 3 BB, 4 HBP, 5 ER. 2B: Luke Keith (BC). RBI: none (O); Keith, Josh Leek, Hank Adams, Tyler Cook, Tito Williams, Bronson Stone (BC). Records: Ooltewah 3-16, 2-3 District; Bradley Central 12-6, 5-0 District 6-4A.
