BRISTOL, Tenn. – Tennessee High’s Storm Ketron locked in, swung, made contact and sent the baseball soaring. The sphere flew through the air and skied toward the left-center field fence. Two Sullivan Central outfielders reached out, converged, collided and fell down. The ball followed, finding grass. And as Ketron reached second base, Tennessee High’s Scott Osborne safely crossed home plate, scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
It was another comeback and another victory for the resilient Vikings, who downed the Cougars, 6-5, Wednesday evening in a Big Nine Conference contest at Tod Houston Field.
Ketron keyed Tennessee High’s rally. He scorched two line-drive doubles in the final two innings and also scored a game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh that gave the game new life.
Speedy, energetic and determined, Ketron captured the effort of a Vikings (19-8, 8-5) team that has overcome a slow start and battled all season to become contenders in the Big Nine.
Tennessee High coach Gill Payne praised his ego-less team for another selfless performance that allowed role players to shine. The Vikings rallied with small ball. And they employed a combination of smart base running and well-placed hits to overcome a 4-2 fifth-inning deficit.
“There’s no stars on this team,” Payne said. “These guys give each other opportunities to be stars for a day. And it’s awesome.”
Ketron agreed with his coach’s take.
“This team’s got a lot of heart, a lot of character,” Ketron said. “We come together when we really need it.”
Jon Krebs picked up the win for Tennessee High. Krebs allowed one run in two and two-thirds innings of relief, taking over for Vikings starter Jarrod Payne.
Central reliever Cody Hyden took the loss.
The Cougars (10-13, 2-10) appeared to have an edge over Tennessee High throughout the game – Payne admitted his team came out flat – and held a 5-4 advantage heading into the bottom of the eighth inning.
“I’m proud of my kids. They battled and they did a good job,” Central coach Brandon Krantz said. “That’s just the breaks of the game.”
The Cougars jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning following a leadoff home run by Matt Harmon. Harmon locked into a dead-center pitch from Payne and sent the ball into a hard, carrying wind that shot the hit over the center-field fence.
Tennessee High responded with its first offering of small ball, turning a single, sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly into a run in the bottom of the first.
But the Cougars hit back with another homer, courtesy of a high floater over the left-field fence by Carl Roberts.
Central then took a 4-2 lead when Hyden hit a sharp RBI single to center field. Hyden’s shot scored Harmon, who took off from second base with the pitch on a successful hit-and-run attempt.
But the Vikings kept pushing. And they sent the game into extra innings on an RBI ground out by Krebs that scored Ketron.
“We focused on the little things today,” Ketron said. “We just worked on all the little things that seemed to come together.”
btsmith@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2569
Tennessee High 6, Sullivan Central 5, 8 innings
Sullivan Central 101 110 01–5 8 4
Tennessee High 100 110 12–6 9 3
Harmon, Hyden (5) and Arnold. Payne, Krebs (5), Payne (6), Krebs (6) and Crockett. WP—Krebs. LP—Hyden. HR: Harmon (solo in 1st), Roberts (solo in 3rd).
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