Compton Tosses 5th Straight Shutout in Lady Vikings Win at Crockett

Carly Compton tossed a fifth consecutive shutout with a four-hitter in Tennessee High’s 2-0 shutout of David Crockett Thursday evening at Mary Irwin Field. It’s the eighth shutout on the season for the North Carolina commit who has now tossed 39 consecutive scoreless innings and worked 42 straight frames without allowing an earned run. Compton struck out 12, didn’t walk a batter and hit one in her latest gem against the Pioneers. It’s the ten straight start by Compton in which she’s struck out ten or more, 118 total. Over her last 11 appearances that includes 64 innings pitches, Compton has allowed only two earned runs, an ERA of 0.22. Kaylie Hughes drove in both Lady Vikings runs against Crockett, both following singles by Addie Wilhoit and Abby Haga in the first and fourth innings. The trio all finished with two hits in the game, combining for six of Tennessee High’s ten hits with Wilhoit scoring both runs. Autumn Wynn had two hits for the Lady Pioneers, including one double. Tennessee High1001000-- 2 10 0 David Crockett0000000-- 0 4 1 Tennessee High – Carly Compton and Abby Haga. David Crockett – Cara Wilson and Bailey Dugger. W – Carly Compton, L – Cara Wilson. 2B – Carly Compton, Tennessee High; Autumn Wynn, David Crockett. RBI – Kaylie Hughes, Tennessee High 2. SB – Natalie Dunbar, David Crockett.

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Maness Walk-Off Caps Lady Indians Rally Past Science Hill

In the first of a two-game set at Indian Highland Park that could settle second place in the Big East Conference softball race, homestanding Dobyns-Bennett rallied from a 5-2 deficit for a 6-5 eight-inning win over Science Hill Thursday afternoon. The victory moves the Lady Indians (4-3, 24-9) into solo possession of the second spot past the Lady ‘Toppers (3-4, 16-7), who lost for a third straight day. Maddie Diamond’s two-run homer in the first staked Science Hill to a short-lived two-run lead as a Catie Zani sacrifice fly and Payton Moore single tied the game in the bottom half of the first. Beth Pridemore’s sacrifice bunt in the third and a two-run error in the fifth push the Lady ‘Toppers to a three-run lead. The Lady Indian comeback started in the sixth with Zani again in the mix. The Maryville signee singled, moved to third on a Sophie Dean double and scored on an error. Another run scored on a Claudia Maness ground-out. Hailey Porter opened the bottom of the seventh with a triple and scored to tie the game on a Riley McMillan bunt. Dean doubled again in the bottom of the eight, moved to third on Julianne Tipton’s sacrifice bunt and scored the winning run on Maness’ walk-off single. Porter, Zani, Dean, Tipton and Reagan Hollowell all had two hits for Dobyns-Bennett. Tipton scattered eight hits over the eight innings, striking out seven and allowed just two earned runs. Lora Wilgus finished with two hits for Science Hill. Science Hill20102000-- 5 5 3 Dobyns-Bennett20000211-- 6 14 3 Science Hill – Isabel Meeks and Lora Wilgus. Dobyns-Bennett – Julianne Tipton and Riley McMillan. W - Julianne Tipton, L - Isabel Meeks. 2B – Lora Wilgus, Science Hill; Allie McConelee, Dobyns-Bennett; Sophie Dean, Dobyns-Bennett 2. 3B – Hailey Porter, Dobyns-Bennett. HR – Maddie Diamond, Science Hill (one on in 2nd). RBI – Science Hill 3 (Maddie Diamond 2, Beth Pridemore), Dobyns-Bennett 6 (Claudia Maness 2, Julianne Tipton, Catie Zani, Payton Moore, Riley McMillan). SF – Catie Zani, Dobyns-Bennett. SAC – Beth Pridemore, Science Hill 2; Chloe Conner, Science Hill; Claudia Maness, Dobyns-Bennett; Riley McMillan, Dobyns-Bennett, Julianne Tipton, Dobyns-Bennett. SB – Malia Maroukas, Science Hill 2; Payton Moore, Dobyns-Bennett; Riley McMillan, Dobyns-Bennett. DP - Dobyns-Bennett.

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Providence Academy Takes Down Science Hill

Science Hill Hall of Famer Jeremy Owens’ son Josh mowed down his alma mater Thursday night at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. Owens, a 6-foot-3 right-hander, pitched six innings for the victory and drove in three runs as Providence Academy rolled to an 11-2 triumph. Providence improved to 18-10 on the season. Science Hill, which beat Owens and the Knights 4-1 in both teams’ season opener, fell to 25-10. Providence manager Jeff Reed, a former Major League Baseball catcher, assisted Science Hill coach Ryan Edwards his first two seasons in the Hilltoppers dugout in 2008-09. Reed’s son, Providence assistant coach Lance Reed, was a junior and senior catcher on those teams. Topping the ‘Toppers on Thursday was a signature win. “That’s the best game we’ve played since I’ve been at Providence,” Jeff Reed said. “That team is quality. They’re gonna make a run. The pitcher we faced, (Major) Osbolt, is quality. That’s a good team, but this was our night. Things went well, the ball bounced our way. We got the mojo early. “I’m very proud of our team. They were ready to play, and then when we won, they didn’t go crazy like we’d never won a game like this in the past.” Owens hit 90 mph on the radar gun a number of times Thursday. He has seven walks and nearly 70 strikeouts in 46 innings. A number of college coaches were in attendance Thursday. The Knights also have junior Nathan Eisfelder, a Tennessee commitment, and catcher Renaldo Matti, who has D-I interest. “Josh Owens only began to pitch three years ago,” Reed said. “So he’s very raw. But everybody that has seen him, they love him. He has a really good slider and he got to 90 miles an hour a few times tonight. He’s working on a changeup now. He can field his position.” Owens allowed six hits, one walk and two runs in six innings. He struck out three. “Those guys can hit, man, so throwing strikes is key,” Owens said. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve got, if you can throw strikes you’re gonna get outs. They hit some balls hard, but they were right to people. “We worked hard for this game. We’ve got playoffs coming up next week. This was a big game. Playoffs are more important, but we came out playing like it was a playoff game and it paid off.” Matti and Drew Niebauer each had three hits. Matti scored two runs and drove in two others. Niebauer had two runs and an RBI. Austin Price was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. “Austin did a great job hitting,” Owens said. The Knights tallied seven two-out hits. “Those are golden,” Reed said. Science Hill starter Major Osbolt, who got the win against Providence in the previous meeting, allowed four runs in three innings. “The first game was the first game of the season,” Reed said. “I think we were a little bit nervous. We had never played a team like this around here. “They scored three runs in the first, and after that we played ‘em, 1-1. They beat us, 4-1, and they played better than we did. Tonight we got off to a good start, and we just kept it rolling.” Jackson Berry was 1-for-3 with an RBI double and a walk for the Hilltoppers. Science Hill coach Ryan Edwards was quick to credit Reed’s Knights. “They came in with a great plan and they executed their plan to a tee,” Edwards said, “and it was just an avalanche after they got going. The bottom line is they had a really good approach against our pitching today and they executed it to a tee. That was a really good opponent that put it on us. … “Owens pitched a great game. I was impressed with him today. He was probably throwing five to seven miles an hour harder than he was when we saw him back in March, and just a little bit more movement. When he got that early lead he got after it. He’s just a very competitive kid and he took that lead and ran with it. He mowed us down for six innings.” Providence has two regular season games remaining, each with Christ School (Arden, North Carolina). A TSSAA Division II, Class A member, the Knights will begin region tournament play on Friday, May 3. “Hopefully, we can make a long run,” Reed said. Science Hill will host Unicoi County tonight at 6 p.m. for Senior Night and will play Greeneville on Saturday at noon. Edwards won’t dwell on Thursday’s setback, and it did set up nicely for the Knights. Not only were they looking for payback, but Science Hill was coming off a conference-ending shutout win against rival Dobyns-Bennett and will host Senior Night tonight. “Yeah, but they hit the ball,” Edwards said. “They were on time all night. They didn’t barrel all their hits, but at the same time, they were on time all night. We kept trying to counter it and it seemed like nothing was working. “But I would much rather be beaten when a team beats us. We only walked a couple and didn’t make a bunch of errors. So we’ll just move on.” Providence Academy2021213-- 11 16 1 Science Hill0010010-- 2 6 2 Providence Academy – Josh Owens, Aiden Sproles (7) and Tyne Bowman. Science Hill – Major Osbolt, Hagan Gibson 4), Sam Royston (6), Caden Wells (7) and Aiden Vermillion, Fletcher Counts (7). W – Josh Owenw, L – Major Osbolt. 2B – Rinaldo Matti, Providence Academy; Drew Niebauer, Providence Academy; Jackson Berry, Science Hill. 3B – Nathan Eisfelder, Providence Academy; Tyne Bowman, Providence Academy. RBI – Providence Academy 11 (Josh Owens, Rinaldo Matti, Nathan Eisfelder, Tyne Bowman, Aiden Sproles, Austin Price, Grant Gentry), Science Hill 2 (Jackson Berry, Lucas Dye). SF – Josh Owens, Providence Academy 2; Lucas Dye, Science Hill. SB – Grant Gentry, Providence Academy; Rinaldo Matti, Providence Academy. CS – Nathan Eisfelder, Providence Academy.

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University High Knocks off West Ridge on Wolves' Senior Night

Sports can bring the thrill of victory as well as the agony of defeat, Jim McKay said long ago. University School and West Ridge baseball teams modeled both ends on Thursday. Never shying away from a chance to step it up in competition, "University High" has played good baseball for years, and the Buccaneers displayed once again that size actually doesn't matter, claiming a 5-4 victory over the Wolves at the Evelyn Rafalowski Athletic Complex. The non-conference result left UHigh with a 16-9 record and West Ridge with a 9-15 mark. The Buccaneers are a local Class 1A power, earning their way to the last five state tournaments under Josh Petty. The last time they didn't make it to state (2017), they still won 20 games. However, Petty gave up the reins following last season after 11 years in charge, and the new guy -- a familiar face in the Tri-Cities -- is cruising along at about the same altitude. Christian Taylor, a former star at Sullivan East who went on to play at Milligan before returning to Bluff City to spend the last decade as an assistant under Mike Breuninger, is up for the gig. "West Ridge is in one of the toughest conferences in the state of Tennessee, and they've got a good program even if their record doesn't show it," the first year head coach said. "UHigh does, too (have a good program). We play high-level baseball and we play a competitive schedule." In addition to West Ridge, the Buccaneers also play Class AAAA schools Dobyns-Bennett, Morristown East, Morristown West and Jefferson County, plus AAA Tennessee High, Sullivan East, David Crockett, Unicoi County and Elizabethton. They also beat East and Unicoi County. University High isn't scared and never has been, as far as anyone can remember. Taylor inherited a successful foundation, so he can spend time tweaking instead of rebuilding. "I've been an assistant coach for 10 years and I've been in the travel game (as a director of operations with the Tri-Star Titans organization) for equally as long," Taylor said. "You know, there's new challenges as head coach, like managing the characters and managing the lineup. "But, it's just good to put my stamp on a program, and we'll see where we can go." So far, so good at the little Johnson City school, which has less than 300 students. West Ridge, with over 1,700 students, hasn't fared as well this season, after winning nearly 20 games in each of its first two years in existence. And third-year head coach Michael Hoover, a longtime baseball veteran with even more experience than Taylor, is running out of patience. He couldn't understand how his team seemed to shift into a sort of auto-pilot mode offensively after grabbing a 3-0 lead through one inning against UHigh pitcher Knox Poston. He also could not understand how he could have baserunners picked off by Poston in consecutive innings. Dropping a one-run game might indicate that a team competed, but maybe not this time. "Nah, I don't know that we did," Hoover said. "After the first inning we just kind of relaxed, had bad approaches at the plate ... just not understanding situations, not really competing a whole lot at the plate. I was very disappointed with our effort at the plate. "I thought Cade (Duncan) and Reed (White) did enough to win on the mound, but we just didn't compete the way we needed to." The Wolves, who were blanked in conference play this season, are what they are at this point. The double-elimination District 1-AAAA tournament begins next week, and that certainly won't be a picnic against the likes of Daniel Boone, Science Hill and D-B. "At some point we've got to stop using the excuse that we're young and experienced," Hoover said. "They've played enough games now, that can't be an excuse anymore. "When you have guys (starters Morgan Ward and Brayden Barr) out of the lineup and new guys get opportunities, you've got to make the most of them, and we just didn't do that tonight." University High battled from behind twice, overcoming its three-run deficit with a 3-spot of its own in the top of the third, then effectively winning it with a pair of runs in the fifth. Down 4-3 after West Ridge scored a run in the home half of the fourth, the Buccaneers immediately responded by grabbing their first lead of the game. Duncan, who'd given up three runs through four innings, pitched the fifth for Hoover, but the right-hander hit Daxon Letterman with a pitch to open the frame, setting the table for a rally. Leadoff hitter River Kindle followed with a ringing double to left-center field to tie the game, before Peter Boynewicz lined one to nearly the same spot with two outs, making it a 5-4 game. In a well-pitched game which featured just five hits by each team, the two baggers were huge, but just the kind of play Taylor has come to expect from Kindle and Boynewicz. "They're both super fiery, they're energetic and they're competitors, and you want that on your baseball team," the 35-year-old Taylor said. "They play basketball and baseball -- can jump out of the gym, so they're ultra-athletic. Peter's a walking highlight reel." Up by a run, Poston was now grooving. A right-hander who flooded the zone with 61 strikes out of 85 pitches, the junior didn't allow a run over the last three innings. He preserved his win by getting Ryker Hann to ground out to shortstop Jack Harmon to end the game with runners at first and second, setting off a nice celebration for the Bucs. "He (Poston) was amped up to get the start today," Taylor said. "And once he was able to settle in and have good pitch selection, he was able to get a good rhythm and keep it, compete every pitch and get the job done." Poston finished with the five-hitter and four earned-runs allowed, striking out six and issuing four free passes, including three hit batsmen. His pickoffs at first base in the second and third innings -- with no outs and one out -- short-circuited possible West Ridge rallies. Duncan took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) and all five UHigh hits while striking out two, walking none and hitting two batters. White faced the minimum of six batters in his two innings of relief -- he hit a batter as well, but West Ridge turned a double play soon thereafter. West Ridge started like a house afire, its first three batters of the game reaching base and scoring. Alex Ireson singled and Kade Oliver had an RBI single, while White and Kas Click both had run-scoring ground outs. Parker Senn had led off the uprising by getting hit by a pitch. UHigh tied the game in similar fashion in the third inning, Boynewicz and Cooper Stevenson plating runs with ground-ball outs, and the other run scoring on a successful sacrifice bunt coupled with a West Ridge throwing error. Letterman again led off the rally, this time with a single, before Kindle became a victim of the ever-popular hit-by-pitch. The Wolves gained their temporary one-run edge in the fourth on the ever-popular ground-ball out, this time off the bat of Josh Seto. No player in the game had more than one base hit. University won despite making five errors. West Ridge lost despite making just one error. University High0030200-- 5 5 5 West Ridge3001000-- 4 5 1 University High -- Knox Poston and Daxon Letterman. West Ridge -- Cade Duncan, Reed White (6) and Josh Seto. W -- Knox Poston. L -- Cade Duncan.

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