BY JIMMY MOORE
Sports Correspondent
BRISTOL, Va. — Gate City and John Battle’s slots in next week’s Region D baseball tournament were already set and Thursday’s Clinch Mountain District Tournament title game was for pride only.
The two teams had split in the regular season, but Gate City dominated on Thursday en route to a 12-4 win in the finals of the CMD tournament.
The Trojans (16-5) saw their district tournament dominance end as the loss broke a string of 12 straight district tournament titles, dating back to their days in the Hogoheegee District.
Gate City head coach Shannon Carter watched his team collect 10 hits with only one error, perfect timing for postseason play.
“Clutch hitting,” Carter said. “We’ve had trouble doing that and we came through tonight and you’ve got to have that this time of year. These guys are very deserving of this. They have worked extremely hard.”
A five-run fifth inning broke the game open for the Blue Devils (11-8) and Jordan Estepp’s home run highlighted a six-run sixth inning in the win.
Dustin Jones went 2-for-4 for the Blue Devils and Dusty Clark also had a pair of hits with his 2-for-3 effort.
Carter said you can never count a team like John Battle down until you record the final out.
“They are a very good ball club and we are extremely excited with the win,” he added.
In addition to a solo shot by Battle’s Josh Osborne, Taryn Hayden and Austin Sorah had two hits each.
Battle head coach Larry Cannon said the Blue Devil win was no surprise for the coaching staff.
“They came in with a lot of intensity and in a close ballgame, score 10 runs with two outs,” Cannon said. “That’s big. I don’t know if we didn’t come to play tonight or they just came after us. It was a good ballgame for them and we just didn’t get the job done.”
Gate City will travel to Castlewood on Tuesday in the first round of the Region D tourney, while Battle hosts Twin Springs.
Gate City 000 150 6 —12 10 1
John Battle 100 100 020 1 — 4 7 4
Harvey, Kirk (3), Hughes (5) and Jones. Timp, Denton (5) and Jones. Win—Kirk (3-2). Loss—Timp (6-2). HR — Estepp (GC), 7th, none on; Osborne (JB), 5th, none on.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement