Greeneville opened the District 2-3A baseball tournament at Eastman Credit Union Field at Pioneer Park in dominant fashion Thursday afternoon. The Greene Devils scored early and often, then rode a strong pitching performance from Randen Fillers to a 10-0 win over the Volunteer Falcons.
“It was just sticking with our game plan,” assistant coach Andy Barnett said. “We saw the same kid we had faced three times, and he kept us off balance with his off-speed pitches the first couple of times. We stressed staying on top of the ball and hitting it on the ground or on a line, and other than the last inning, I think we did that.”
Fillers, a right-handed senior, was in control throughout. He faced just two batters over the minimum, allowing one hit over five shutout innings while walking one and striking out eight.
“Randen came out filling it up and had complete control of his fastball and slider to set the tone,” Barnett said. “He loves to throw here, and he gets jacked up for postseason play.”
Greeneville tallied 10 hits, led by Colton Smith, who drove in four runs with two singles. Kaine Ricker added two RBIs with a pair of singles, while Grayson Crosby and Sam Thompson each contributed an RBI.
The Greene Devils wasted no time getting on the board. Maddox Bishop drew a leadoff walk in the first inning, moved to third on an errant pickoff attempt, and scored on Ricker’s single to right to make it 1-0.
Ricker advanced to second on a groundout by Will Harmon and moved to third on Crosby’s deep fly to right. Thompson followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 2-0.
After Thompson stole second, Kase Spradlen singled to left to put runners on the corners. A stolen base moved Spradlen into scoring position, and Smith delivered a two-run single to push the advantage to 4-0.
Greeneville broke the game open in the second inning, plating six more runs. Ricker and Crosby each recorded an RBI, Smith added two more with a single to center, and Branton White capped the inning with a two-out, two-run double.
Now 32-8 overall and 1-0 in postseason play, Greeneville advances to face Grainger, who rallied to defeat Cherokee 3-2 in extra innings, at 7 p.m. Friday. The winner will move on to the district championship at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and secure a spot in next week’s Region 1-3A tournament.
