Murfreesboro area TSSAA playoffs update: Siegel's Rich LaLance wins state singles title

Siegel junior tennis standout Rich LaLance has progressed a step at the TSSAA state singles tournament each season since bursting onto the scene as a freshman.

LaLance captured his first state championship, winning the Class AA boys singles title 2-0 (6-4, 6-1) over Hume-Fogg's Elliot Parker Friday morning at Adams Tennis Complex.

"I played really well," LaLance said. "It's some of the best tennis I've played in a while. I knew this tournament would be tough. I prepared to the best of my ability, practiced every day and got mentally focused. I knew it would be a battle."

LaLance didn't lose a set during the tournament. The four games he lost in the first set to Parker were the most he surrendered in his three matches.

"(Parker) had a great serve," LaLance said. "My returns were really good today."

LaLance reached the state semifinals during his freshman season and then advanced to the state championship match as a sophomore before earning the title this season.

"It's amazing, especially after falling short last year," LaLance said. "It feels good to get this one. I feel like I'll be really confident (next season). Maybe I can even strike some fear into my opponents, knowing they're playing the defending champ."

Blackman senior Ozge Yuksel battled Brentwood's Evelyn Risner tough, but was denied a state title, losing in straight sets (6-3, 7-5).

FRIDAY

Baseball

Brayden Baker, Eagleville: Went 3-for-4 with a triple, three runs and an RBI, while also closing out the game with the final out in a 10-0 win over University School of Johnson City in the Class 1A state championship game.

Josh Jeffcoat, Eagleville: Tossed 5.2 innings of three-hit ball while also going 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Brady Burns, Eagleville: Went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.

Nathan Brown, Eagleville: Went 1-for-3 with a double, three runs and an RBI.

Marshall Spann, Eagleville: Went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Cason Lamb, Eagleville: Went 1-for-3 with two runs.

Softball

Kloe Quigle, Stewarts Creek: Went 1-for-3 with a triple, run and RBI in a 3-2 loss to Dobyns-Bennett in the Class 4A state championship game.

Jadyn Brawley, Stewarts Creek: Tossed five innings of two-hit relief, allowing one run (unearned).

Tenayja Thomas, Stewarts Creek: Went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

THURSDAY

Stewarts Creek's softball team and Eagleville's baseball team both advanced to TSSAA state championship games Thursday, while several individuals excelled in tennis and track at Spring Fling.

The Lady Red Hawks needed to win three games Thursday to advance, and that's exactly what the Lady Red Hawks did.

Stewarts Creek defeated Henry County 10-3 early in the day to reach the Class 4A bracket final, where it defeated Knoxville Halls twice (3-1, 3-2) to advance to the state finals. The Lady Red Hawks will play Dobyns-Bennett at 10 a.m. at MTSU Friday in the championship game.

It's the first state title game in program history.

The Lady Red Hawks trailed 2-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning before scoring runs in each the fifth and seventh to tie the decisive game. It then went into extra innings, where Stewarts Creek won it in the bottom of the eighth.

Aubree Ashworth led off the inning with a single, was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bella Richer and reached third on a single by Brooke Kemp. Alayna Wilson then brought her home with the winning run on a single.

Jadyn Brawley and Jaelyn Stembridge each had RBI-singles to help the Lady Red Hawks (32-15) tie the game.

Tenayja Thomas had three hits, including two doubles, in the game.

BASEBALL

Eagleville reached the Class 1A championship game for the third consecutive season, as the two-time defending state champs had no problems disposing of South Pittsburg 11-1. Eagleville has outscored its state opponents 44-4.

The Eagles (33-5) play University School-Johnson City at 10 a.m. Friday at MTSU in the title game.

Brayden Baker went 2-for-2 with three runs and an RBI for Eagleville, which has won 16 in a row and 25 of 26. Maddox Bouldin went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Josh Jeffcoat added two hits.

TRACK AND FIELD

The softball team wasn't the only from Stewarts Creek enjoying success Thursday. Lady Red Hawk track and field standout Camryn Merryman captured the Class AAA state title in the 400-meter run Thursday. She finished with a time of 56.44, beating Houston's Shantel Reed.

The Blackman girls 4x100 meter relay team also captured a state title, finishing in 48.09 to edge second-place Brentwood.

Boys medalists: Isaiah Verser, Riverdale (200-meter dash, 7th), Tate Vinson, Rockvale (3200 run, 5th), Isaac Boles, Blackman (110 hurdles, 4th), Thomas Jones, Smyrna (300 hurdles, 8th), Tyree Brown, Rockvale (high jump, 7th), Tarrion Grant, Siegel (long jump, 7th), Chase Bandy, Oakland (triple jump, 6th), Tim Alexander, Stewarts Creek (pole vault, 3rd), Gavin Deery, Rockvale (pole vault, 8th), Bo Bryan, Rockvale (discus, 7th), Timi Williams, Rockvale (shot put, 5th), Ashton Doss, Blackman (shot put, 8th).

Relays: Blackman 4x100 relay (7th), Blackman 4x200 relay (3rd), Rockvale 4x200 relay (8th), Rockvale 4x400 relay (7th), Rockvale 4x800 relay (8th).

Girls medalists: Camryn Merryman, Stewarts Creek (400-meter run, 1st), Xarya Udoumana, Rockvale (long jump, 4th; triple jump, 5th), Emoni Owens, Blackman (100-meter dash, 4th; 200-meter dash, 6th), Kyla Joy, Oakland (400-meter run, 4th), Bella King, Stewarts Creek (1600 run, 8th), Leila Hailey, Rockvale (3200 run, 3rd), Arianna Isbel, Blackman (long jump, 6th), Toju Williams, Rockvale (discus, 3rd; shot put, 3rd), Annabelle Keating, Oakland (shot put, 7th).

Relays: Blackman 4x100 (1st), Siegel 4x100 (8th), Blackman 4x200 (3rd), Stewarts Creek 4x800 (7th).

TENNIS

Siegel junior Rich LaLance and Blackman senior Ozge Yuksel will both be competing for state tennis championships Friday.

LaLance defeated Collierville's Ansh Sampat 6-1, 6-3 in the Class AA boys singles quarterfinals and then downed Marshall County's Matteo Lecito 6-0, 6-2 in the semifinals Thursday. He will face Hume-Fogg's Elliot Parker in Friday's title match at 11 a.m. at Adams Tennis Complex.

Yuksel defeated Tennessee High's Averie Stalnaker 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals and downed Cookeville's Adeleine Moore 6-1, 6-0 in the semis. She will face Brentwood's Evelyn Risner in the finals at 9 a.m. Friday.

Siegel's Ellie Zolt and Laurel Rich reached the Class AA girls doubles semifinals, defeating William Blount's Ava Webb and Reese Boring (6-2, 6-0) in the quarterfinals before falling to Tennesee High's Trinity Moore and Ellyson Kovacs (1-6, 4-6).

MTCS' boys doubles tandem of Ben Helton and Koen Meranda reached the DII-A semifinals before falling to USJ's Preston Miller and Jack Wilkerson (2-6, 2-6). Helton and Meranda defeated CAK's Tate Campbell and Camden Oakley (7-5, 1-6, 6-4) in the quarterfinals.

MTCS freshman Caleb Koffman lost in the DII-A boys singles quarterfinals (6-4, 6-2) to CAK's Quinn Campbell.

MTCS' Reese Tidwell and Chloe Converse dropped their DII-A girls doubles quarterfinals match to USJ's Hayden Craig and Madeline Craig (1-6, 1-6).

Providence Christian's Will Smith and Gavin Wrather fell in the DII-A boys doubles quarterfinals to USJ's Tristan Scallion and Andrew Lawrence (6-2, 1-6, 2-6).

Cannon County's Jenna Bush reached the Class A girls singles semifinals with a win over Union City's Emma Mobbs (1-6, 6-2, 6-2) before falling in the state semis to Summertown's Libby Konig (4-6, 0-6).

Cannon County's Bode Davenport battled illness while competing in the Class A boys singles tournament, where he fell in the quarterfinals (2-6, 4-6) to Obion County's Olin Johnson. The Lions' boys doubles team of Matt Bane and Boone Elrod fell in the quarterfinals (6-7, 2-6) to Ripley's Mason Platzke and Robert Nelson.

Softball

Alayna Wilson, Stewarts Creek: Drove home the game-winning run with an eighth-inning single in a 3-2 win over Knoxville Halls in game two to propel the Lady Red Hawks to the Class 4A state championship game.

Samya Sandifer, Stewarts Creek: Went 2-for-2 with a homer and two RBIs in a 3-1 win over Knoxville Halls in game one. She also allowed two hits and struck out 11 over six innings.

Jadyn Brawley, Stewarts Creek: Allowed two runs over six innings in a game two win over Knox Halls. She also went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Tenayja Thomas, Stewarts Creek: Went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run in game two vs. Halls.

Brooke Kemp, Stewarts Creek: Went 3-for-4 in game two vs. Halls.

Baseball

Brady Burns, Eagleville: Went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI in an 11-1 win over South Pittsburg to propel the Eagles to the Class 1A state championship game.

Brayden Baker, Eagleville: Went 2-for-2 with three runs and an RBI.

Maddox Bouldin, Eagleville: Went 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs.

Josh Jeffcoat, Eagleville: Went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.

Brody Gleason, Eagleville: Allowed three hits over a five-inning complete game.

Marshall Spann, Eagleville: Went 1-for-2 with a run and RBI.

WEDNESDAY

Eagleville's baseball team reached the bracket final of the Class 1A state tournament Wednesday while Siegel had its season come to an end.

The Eagles continued to roll in the tournament, having now outscored their opponents 33-3 after a 17-2 win over Oakdale Wednesday.

Eagleville will play in the bracket final at 2 p.m. against South Pittsburg Thursday at Eagleville. A win will advance the Eagles to the state title game for the third consecutive season. A South Pittsburg win would force a second game right after the first one.

Siegel dropped two games on Wednesday in the Class 4A state tournament, falling 6-0 to Farragut in the winners bracket final and then losing 4-3 to Beech in eight innings in an elimination game that didn't conclude until after 11 p.m.

The Stars finished the season 33-14.

SOFTBALL: Stewarts Creek's softball senior outfielder Tenayja Thomas said her squad has a lot of fight in them.

The Lady Red Hawks will have to show it Thursday morning after falling to Knoxville Halls 4-3 Wednesday morning in the Class 4A state baseball tournament.

Stewarts Creek will play Henry County in the losers bracket final of the bracket at 9 a.m. Thursday at Starplex, a game that was originally scheduled for Wednesday afternoon before heavy rains and storms washed out the remainder of the day.

A win would put the Lady Red Hawks (29-15) in the bracket final immediately following that game. Stewarts Creek would then have to defeat Knoxville Halls twice to reach the state championship game.

"We beat ourselves," Thomas said of the loss to Halls. "We have to come back with confidence and let go of the little things. It happened. All we can do is flush it and move on. We have a lot of fight. That's one thing we always do, we don't give up. We're not ready to be done yet."

Stewarts Creek led 3-0 going into the bottom of the sixth and sophomore pitcher Jadyn Brawley carried a no-hitter into the frame. However, Halls rallied for four runs, including the go-ahead runs with two outs.

A pivotal play in the inning came when Stewarts Creek second baseman Bella Richer dove for a grounder and shuffled the ball to first, but the umpire called the runner safe for the fielder being off the bag.

Stewarts Creek was also denied a run earlier in the game when a homer off the bat of Samya Sandifer was wiped off after a baserunner was called for leaving the bag early.

"They still have fight, they still believe, still have trust in each other," Stewarts Creek coach Jennifer Fernandez said. (Leadership) is huge. We have to have it from top to bottom. From beginning to the end, all the way through. And energy has to stay up."

Softball

Samya Sandifer, Stewarts Creek: Went 2-for-3 with two runs in a 4-3 loss to Knoxville Halls in the 4A state tournament.

Jaelyn Stembridge, Stewarts Creek: Went 1-for-2 with two runs.

Jadyn Brawley, Stewarts Creek: Had a run-scoring double and carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth before allowing five hits and four runs.

Tenayja Thomas, Stewarts Creek: Went 2-for-4 with a run.

Bella Richer, Stewarts Creek: Went 2-for-3.

Baseball

Nathan Brown, Eagleville: Went 2-for-4 with a double, run and four RBIs in a 17-2 win over Oakdale in the 1A tournament.

Marshall Spann, Eagleville: Went 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs.

Brayden Baker, Eagleville: Went 2-for-3 with a double, three runs and two RBIs.

Cason Lamb, Eagleville: Went 1-for-1 with two runs and three RBIs.

Brady Burns, Brody McLemore, Eagleville: Each had a hit and two RBIs.

Will Horn, Siegel: Belted a solo homer in a 4-3 loss to Beech in the Class 4A elimination game.

Drew Hostetler, Siegel: Had two hits and a run vs. Beech.

TUESDAY

The Siegel and Eagleville baseball teams and Stewarts Creek's softball team all advanced in the winners bracket of their respective TSSAA state tournaments at Spring Fling Tuesday.

Siegel defeated Clarksville 5-4 in the Class 4A state baseball tournament and will play at home at 12:30 against Farragut Wednesday. The Lady Red Hawks defeated Green Hill 8-7 in the Class 4A state softball tournament and will play Knoxville Halls at 10 a.m. at Starplex on Wednesday.

The Eagles had little trouble disposing of Union City, winning 16-1 in the Class 1A state baseball tournament.

The Stars carried a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh and held off a late Clarksville rally. The score was 5-3 with the bases loaded when the Wildcats sent a deep fly to center that was caught at the fence. Siegel then completed a double play when it was ruled the runner on second tagged up early.

Baseball

Brady Burns, Eagleville: Went 3-for-4 with a double, triple, two runs and five RBIs in a 16-1 win over Union City in the Class 1A tournament.

Brayden Baker, Eagleville: The Class 1A Mr. Baseball allowed one run on one hit, striking out eight in 5.2 innings. He also went 2-for-4 with a triple, run and two RBIs.

Nathan Brown, Eagleville: Went 2-for-3 with a run and RBI.

Brody McLemore, Eagleville: Went 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs.

Cason Lamb, Eagleville: Went 1-for-2 with two runs and an RBI.

Will Horn, Siegel: Belted two home runs, driving in three, in a 5-4 win over Clarksville in the Class 4A state tournament.

Jack Santi, Siegel: Carried a shutout into the seventh, finishing with 6.1 innings and three earned runs, striking out five.

Dylan Rodgers, Siegel: Went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Drew Hostetler, Siegel: Went 2-for-3 with a run.

Softball

Jadyn Brawley, Stewarts Creek: Went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs in an 8-7 win over Green Hill in the Class 4A state tourney.

Tenayja Thomas, Stewarts Creek: Went 3-for-4 with two runs.

Brooke Kemp, Stewarts Creek: Went 3-for-3 with a double and RBI.

Kloe Quigle, Stewarts Creek: Went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI.

Jaelyn Stembridge, Stewarts Creek: Went 1-for-2 with a double and run.

Samya Sandifer, Stewarts Creek: Went 1-for-3 with a run and RBI and tossed a complete game in the circle.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Murfreesboro area TSSAA playoffs update: Siegel's Rich LaLance wins state singles title