17/18u Write-Ups
This past weekend nine teams competed in the 18u Smokies Wood Bat Classic. Knox Stars had a great showing going 3-1 along with the TN Stix. Several players, in particular, showcased their talents. Below are some of the games write-ups.
Game 1:
Knoxville Stars jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first after two walks, and a hit loaded the bases. An error by the SS caused two runs to score to make it 2-0. Two more hits by the Stars helped give them a 4-0 lead to end the first. After a couple scoreless innings by both teams, the Stars struck again with a two-RBI triple by Collenbury. The Stars then cashed in another run from a sac fly to RF by Smith. In the top of the 6th, the Stars added one more run with a single by McClellan to extend their lead to 8-0. Murrell hurled five scoreless innings for the Knoxville Stars earning the win. The Stars won 8-0.
Game 2:
The Pro Hitting Prospects jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the 2nd with an RBI double from #12 Lischer. The Stars limited the damage to only one run with solid pitching from #32 Kollenburg. The Knoxville Stars got on the board in the top of the 4th but could only get one across to the tie the game at 1. The Pro Hitting Prospects took the lead back after a 2 RBI single to RF from #19 Whitehead who was thrown out at 2nd trying to stretch a double. The Pro Hitting Prospects would hold the Stars scoreless the remainder of the game.
Game 3:
The TN Stix got on the board early as they scored two in the top of the first from an RBI sac fly from #7 Holbert and followed by an RBI single to RF from #4 Maples. #22 Harvey pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings before exiting in the bottom of the 4th. The Stix added on one more in the top of the 5th after a throwing error with two outs and proceeded to add two more in 6th after a big 2 RBI hit off the bat of #5 Ruby. The East TN Elite were kept scoreless by good relief pitching from #7 Holbert, who finished the game on the mound for the TN Stix.
Final:
TN Stix – 5
East TN Elite – 0
Game 4:
The Knoxville Stars Orange squared off against the Pro Hitting Prospects to get the day started at the Smokies Stadium. The Knoxville Stars Orange we’re knocking at the door with the bases loaded with only one out, but #9 Caldwell of the Pro Hitting Prospects struck out two batters to get them out of the jam and keep it nodded up at 0. The game would remain scoreless until the top of the 6th with two outs when #11 Williams drove in two runs with a double for the Knoxville Stars Orange. The Pro Hitting Prospects threatened in the bottom half of the 6th with a two-out double off the bat of #9 Caldwell but were unable to push the run across. The Stars closed the game out in the bottom of the 7th to seal the win.
Final:
Knoxville Stars Orange – 2
Pro Hitting Prospects – 0
Game 5:
The Diamond Elite and TN Stix faced off in the final game at Smokies Stadium. The game began with excellent starting pitching from both sides. #4 of the Diamond Elite and #5 Raby both pitched three shutout innings to start the game. It wasn’t until the top of the 3rd that the TN Stix got on the scoreboard, pushing two across with a double to RF from #4! Raby would find himself in trouble in the bottom half of the 4th but would battle his way out of a bases-loaded jam to keep the Diamond Elite scoreless. The TN Stix added three more in the top of the 5th off a couple errors by Diamond Elite to extend their lead to 5-0. Diamond Elite got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the 5th with some small converting on a suicide squeeze. The Stix added another one in the top of the 6th with a two-out RBI single down the LF line. The TN Stix would hold the score where it was in the bottom half of the 7th.
Final:
TN Stix – 6
Diamond Elite – 1
Game 6:
The East TN elite squared off against the Fury Simmons in the second matchup of the day. They would get on the board early as they put up 5 in the first inning. This scoring was partly due to Fury walking the bases loaded, which helped the East TN Elite plate 5. The Elite then added two more in the top half of the 4th to cushion their lead to 7-0. East TN Elite would add three more in the 5th to make it 10-0 and win the game.
Final:
East TN Elite – 10
Fury Simmons – 0
Game 7:
After two scoreless frames, the East TN Elite got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third. After two walks and a single to start the inning, the East TN Elite had the bases loaded with one out and ended up drawing a walk to bring home the first run of the game. #33 Will Emery of the Fury battled his way out of the inning, limiting the damage to only one run. Then, later on in the top of the 4th, the Fury put together three hits in a row to load the bases with one out. A missed squeeze caused the runner on third to wander off third too much and created a bad throw to third from the catcher to allow the run to score, nod it up at 1-1. The game would continue being a back and forth affair as the Elite put up four runs in the 5th to make it 5-1, but the Fury would answer back with three of their own. After a scoreless 6th, the East TN Elite put up two more runs to make it 7-4. The Fury would bring the winning run to the plate in the bottom half but couldn’t get him across to score and fall to the East TN Elite 7-6.
Final:
East TN Elite – 7
The Fury – 6
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