Devils Survive In 8-Inning Pitching Duel

SMYRNA — It was a pitchers’ duel in the Class 3A baseball state tournament on Wednesday at Smyrna High School. A duel in which an unexpected Greeneville player played a pivotal role in a 2-1 win in eight innings over South Gibson.

After Will Harmon pitched a strong seven innings, giving up six hits, one run, walking two and striking out nine, reliever Carson Norris gave up a single, hit a batter and walked another to load the bases with no outs and the game tied 1-1 in the top of the eighth.

Sam Thompson, a sophomore, then took the mound and got the Devils out of the jam.

A daunting task was placed before the young pitcher, but he didn’t flinch. His first batter resulted in an infield fly. One out.

The second batter could only get a piece of his pitch, grounding to first baseman Eli House, who threw out the runner at home on a fielder’s choice. The play kept the game tied, 1-1. Two outs.

The third batter Thompson faced aimed for the fences, but center fielder Maddox Bishop tracked the ball perfectly to end the inning and keep the game tied.

“I feel great,” Thompson said about his clutch performance. “I was definitely nervous, but I felt good. At first I was just trying to throw strikes. I don’t throw very hard, so I was just trying to strike people out. After I got the first two outs, I thought, ‘This is really possible.’ And I did it. And (catcher) Noah (Murray) helped me out and my defense made plays.”

With the massive momentum swing, the Devils capitalized in the bottom of the inning.

Leadoff hitter Bishop obliged, sending a pitch rocketing toward center field for a single. After a pop fly, he advanced to second on a passed ball. Then Colton Richards stepped up to the plate.

With a full count on him, Richards cracked a hard line drive to center field for a walk-off RBI double and was swarmed by teammates and coaches.

“It wasn’t a good at bat,” Richards said with a laugh. “I was just trying to make sure I got something in play, get something in the grass so we can score the guy at second. It was a low and in pitch. I was able to get full extension and the ball just went up and just kept going. It was far enough out there for Maddox to get the run. It feels good.”

Despite being the one who drove in the game-winning run, Richards said the game was won on the mound.

“Will did a great job,” he said. “He was just giving us a chance to win this game. We were able to keep scrapping. Offensively, we didn’t have the best day, but we were able to just keep trying and keep going and not giving up in the boxes. Will did great and without him, we wouldn’t have had this shot.”

And, of course, Richards couldn’t leave out the young relief pitcher who kept the game tied.

“I just had a smile the entire time walking back to the dugout after we got out of that tough situation with the bases juiced,” Richards said after Thomspon’s clutch performance. “Sam just did what he had to do. Throwing strikes and trying to get a guy to miss it and it worked. He did as good as he could’ve done.”

Despite the slow and spotty offensive performance, the Devils were able to do just enough to stay alive.

“Full momentum,” Richards said of the mood in the dugout after Thompson’s pitching. “Everybody was jacked, everybody was feeling good. Just the fact that Sam was able to give us that was huge. There was no doubt. This offense, we just got a bunch of dogs out here, just trying to get it done.”

Greeneville had seven hits, with Bishop, Harmon and Carson Quillen having two each. Richards had the key seventh hit to propel them to the next round.

The Devils put the first run on the board in the fourth, courtesy of Harmon. After Quillen opened the inning with a double to center, Harmon scored him on a two-out ground ball single to right field to make it 1-0.

The Hornets’ hits were scarce, but when it came down to the wire, they performed. With two out and a runner on second in the top of the seventh, Tommy Baker hit an RBI single to left field that tied the game 1-1.

The Devils, now 26-12, advanced to face Station Camp in the semifinals on Thursday.