After surviving a game that covered 24 hours at two different Athens locations Saturday, Walker Valley saw its baseball season come to a close in a tight battle at Mike Turner Field Sunday afternoon.
"That's how every single one of our ball games go with them," said Mustang head wrangler Wes Anderson of the 4-3 victory and the 2-0 defeat. "That's just two good teams gutting it out."
"Hate seeing it end like this. We just struggled at the plate today, couldn’t string them together.
"I’m so proud of these guys though. These seniors are a special group of young men," he added. "They’re going to leave here and be great well beyond WV Baseball. Each and every one of them are incredible people and the Lord has blessed me with four years with them."
Posting just the second sub .500 record since Anderson took over the reins in 2019, Walker Valley finished 15-18 after back-to-back 20-win seasons that saw the Herd advance to the 2023 TSSAA State Tournament and the 2022 TSSAA Sectionals.
Notching its 20th win of the season, McMinn County (20-12) not only repays Herds for back-to-back season ending semifinal exits, but were to squad off with top-seeded Cleveland (21-11) in the district title game after presstime Monday, in Bill Talley Stadium.
The Tribe also punch their ticket for the Region 3-4A Tournament at District 6-4A champion Bradley Central (24-7) this Friday and Saturday.
CHEROKEES 2
MUSTANGS 0
Yet another pitcher's duel, McMinn senior John Bryson went the distance, keeping WV batters off balanced, scattering five hits and three free passes, but only two Mustangs made it past second base as they left nine "ducks on the pond."
Walker Valley senior lefty Conner Phillips countered with 6.1 innings of work, also allowing five hits and a trio of "freebies," but Tribe was able to cash in for a pair of runs.
After Phillips set the visitors down in order in the top of the first, Carson-Newman signee Braxton Smith opened the bottom of the first with a solid single to left and stole second, before classmate Felipe Castellanos beat out an infield hit.
A two-out "plunk" of junior Michael Pledge loaded the bags, by a second throw out by Cleveland State signee and Tribe catcher Hunter McDonald ended the threat.
Cincinnati signee Ty Barnett and McDonald opened the top of the second with back-to-back singles to right field before Landon Roberts "walked the line" to pack the sacks.
Senior Jayce Falls then stepped into the box and delivered the game's only two runs with a single to plate Barnett and McDonald.
After the runs, Phillips sat down 12 of the next 14 Cherokees before giving way to Cooper Henry to get the final two outs.
Walker Valley threatened in the third when Smith drew a lead-off walk and on another infield hit by Castellanos, but e ven a sac fly to right by Phillips to move Smith to third was to not avail as Bryson induced another fly out to end the at bat.
The Herd got a couple of runners on in the fifth when Castellanos stroked a two-out single and Carson Minnix drew a walk, but a pop up on the infield closed the threat.
The Mustangs got a runner on with a Pledge single in the sixth and Castellanos' fourth hit of the day in the seventh, but neither left first base.
MUSTANGS 4
CHEROKEES 3
Braxton Smith started the action Friday at McMinn County High School with a lead-off solo home run, and the Mustangs had a chance to add more, loading bases with two outs before a groundout kept their lead at 1-0.
Then lightning and heavy rain halted action as soon as the top of the first inning ended. After a roughly half-hour delay, play was suspended for Friday.
One day later and with the change in venue to Tennessee Wesleyan's Athens Insurance Stadium, Mustang Hayden Harrison led off the second inning by out-running a tag attempt after a bunt for the single, then went to third base on two wild pitches and scored on junior Jordan Smith's sacrifice fly.
McMinn got on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a RBI-single from Hunter McDonald, and the Cherokees loaded the bases with no outs after an error on a Landon Roberts bunt.
But a Chase McDonald RBI-hit that stayed in the infield was all the Tribe could muster.
Mustang senior Titus Torbett got two of his five strikeouts for the game, with a force out at third after Chase McDonald's tying hit in between, to hold the score to a 2-2 tie.
Braxton Smith led off the fifth with a single, Castellanos walked and Minnix sacrifice bunted both runners into scoring position, setting it up for Phillips to pay it off with a hard ground ball that skipped into the outfield and a new two-run Mustang lead.
"We've been worried about Conner, he sliced his leg open last week and we've been curious how he's going to work on it," Coach Anderson related. "And you want to talk about a competitor, that guy is a three-technique in football at 200 pounds, and that's his mentality.
"And that was another time for it. He just stuck his bat out there and had enough on it to put it into center field and fortunate to get two runs out of it."
Walker Valley went out in order the last two innings, making for a strong finish to McMinn freshman Max Roderick's six-inning start and a strong frame of relief from Bryson.
A one-out error in the bottom of the seventh put Luke Lawson on first base for the Cherokees. Alabama commit Brooks Berry sailed a double over an outfielder to bring McMinn within one and bring dangerous clean-up hitter Mason Roderick to the plate. But Torbett answered with a strikeout of the Tribe's Carson-Newman signee to force the decider.
"Titus has been an absolute dude for us all year long," praised Coach Anderson. "He really has. He honestly had good stuff, but I've seen him have better.
"But he's just an absolute competitor and is a bulldog on the mound. And I can't say anything more about that. How do you respond when you don't have your best stuff? And he responded incredibly today."
