Smyrna, TN – It’s one thing to win a state championship, but it’s another to have an opportunity to return to the finals and defend it. Despite losing some key members to graduation, suffering some injuries along the way, and playing one of the most grueling schedules in high school baseball, the Greeneville Greene Devils would win their first region championship since 2019 and set the stage to do just that.
Overcoming a lengthy delay and a change of venues on the opening night, playing an extra inning game on day two, and having to wait out a weather delay on day three, this baseball team needed just one more win over a Station Camp team, who lost in their opening round game, to advance back to MTSU. Unfortunately, that would not occur as the Bisons took town the Greene Devils in two contests 5-1 and 7-4 to bring their season to a close.
In the first contest, the Bisons took advantage of some early miscues and took a quick 2-0 lead and then tacked on 3 more in the fourth, capped off by a Noah Rice solo shot that gave them a 5-0 advantage.
That is all the support that starting pitcher, Colton Lowery would need as he held the Greene Devil offense to six hits and a single unearned run, which came in the fifth as Corbin Cannon singled in Will Harmon.
In the winner take all contest, Station Camp rode the early momentum scoring five times in the first two innings, on some timely hits. The first two came in the top of the first on a Nate Parsons’ double, followed by singles from Rice and Sam Mullins. Then in the second, a hit batter and a walk, followed by a wild pitch and a 2-RBI double off the bat of Carter Casabella, it looked as if the Bisons were going to run away with it.
The feisty Greene Devils, who had overcome so much throughout the season to even be in this situation, made it a game as they would score single runs in the first, third, fourth, and fifth innings and only trail 5-4. Kaine Ricker picked up the first RBI, scoring Maddox Bishop, while the next two came off the bats of Quillen and Colton Richards. The final run of the day came when Corbin Cannon doubled in Koby Munday.
The Bisons trampled any hopes that the Devils might have had at that point by scoring two insurance runs in the top of the sixth on a passed ball and a balk, making the score 7-4.
In the deciding game, Greeneville made the best of 8 hits, including a double and single from Quillen, followed by 2 singles from Noah Murray, but left 11 runners stranded on the bases ending their season with a 26-14 record.
