Greeneville (No.1 in Class 3A) hosted Oak Ridge (No.2 in Class 4A) in a clash of heavyweights on Thursday night. The Wildcats proved to be the better squad and left Dale Alexander Field with an 8-4 win over the Greene Devils under the lights.
Some of the best talent in the state of Tennessee was on display. Oak Ridge walked in with four Division 1 commits and Greeneville’s Will Harmon and Tegan Begley showcased some of the state’s best talent. Although Greeneville outhit Oak Ridge, 10-to-7, and drew more walks, 5-to-2, it was Oak Ridge who prevailed with one big inning to down the Devils.
The game stayed relatively quiet with only one run in the first four innings. Things quickly changed as Oak Ridge scored six runs in the fifth inning to break away. Vanderbilt commit, and former Pigeon Forge Tiger, Joe Webb smashed a grand slam to deliver the crushing blow to the Greene Devils.
Will Harmon started on the mound for Greeneville and had a productive outing despite what the box score might say. Harmon finished with 4.1 innings pitched, six hits, five earned runs, one walk, and seven strikeouts. Harmon held Oak Ridge to only three hits and a single run through a full four innings, but the game slipped away in the fifth.
Harmon did damage at the plate with a three-run home run and finished with a team-leading three RBIs.
Greeneville slips to 25-7 overall heading into this weekend’s Buddy Hawk Classic.
Oak Ridge started the game with a 1-0 lead after the first inning. Harmon retired the first couple of batters until Mikee Teasley and Joe Webb delivered back-to-back hits down the right field line. The Wildcats successfully executed a double steal of second base and home plate and Teasley scored the first run. Branton White’s throw down to second base was close to securing the third out and negating Teasley’s run, but Webb just beat the throw.
The Greene Devils struggled to score their runners on base. Greeneville had three hits, two walks, and two hit by pitches in the first four innings, but left all seven runners stranded.
Their best chance to score was with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back singles from Grayson Crosby and Sam Thompson followed by a two-out walk by Jaxon Winter loaded the bases, but the inning ended with a pop out to short.
The next inning was when things started to unravel. Noah Wood singled, Colton Banken walked, and Jonah Wolfe singled to load the bases with no outs. Warren East singled up the middle and the Devils weren’t able to get anybody out on the play. Oak Ridge scored one to go up 2-0 with the bases still loaded.
Parker Free grounded out and traded an out for a run to boost the lead to 3-0. Tennessee commit Mikee Teasley was intentionally walked with nobody on first to load the bases again. Vanderbilt commit Joe Webb delivered a grand slam on the first pitch and quickly lifted Oak Ridge ahead 7-0.
Greeneville struck back with a run in the bottom half. Tegan Begley sent a missile off the outfield wall that resulted in a double. Crosby walked and Thompson singled to load the bases and give Greeneville a chance to crack it open. Colton Smith delivered an RBI-single to cut the lead to 7-1. A strikeout ended the inning and left three more runners stranded.
Noah Wood began the sixth by reaching on an error and was driven home by Jonah Wolfe’s sacrifice fly with one out. Oak Ridge extended their lead to 8-1.
The Devils scored three in the bottom half and inched closer. Maddox Bishop doubled and Kaine Ricker followed with a walk. That set up Harmon for a three-run home run crushed to right field to trim their deficit to 8-4.
Greeneville started the seventh inning with a walk by Colton Smith and single by Jacob Ward to potentially set up a comeback. Mikee Teasley killed all hope with a 5-3 double play to wipe a runner off the board and add two outs to the board. The game ended with a fly out only one pitch later.
Oak Ridge traveled to Greene County and left with an 8-4 win over the top-ranked Greeneville Greene Devils.
The Devils will compete in the Buddy Hawk Classic this weekend and host four teams. Greeneville plays Morristown East today at 5:00. The Devils start Saturday’s action with East Hamilton at 10:00 AM followed by a game with Hazard (KY) at 12:30. Daniel Boone vs. East Hamilton will follow at 2:30 and Daniel Boone will play Hazard (KY) at 4:30.
