MURFREESBORO – The moniker of “Title Town” got a little stronger on Saturday afternoon as the Greeneville baseball team captured Greeneville’s High School’s 28th team state championship.
The diamond Devils made quick work of Munford at Siegel High School, needing just five innings to earn a 10-0 win that gave the program its second state title in three years, and third overall.
“This feels amazing. There is no feeling like it. It’s really hard to describe because you don’t know this feeling until it hits you,” Greeneville senior left fielder Carson Norris said. “We have been here before. The last one was nerve wracking, but this one took some weight off our shoulders early and we could enjoy it. I don’t even know how to put it in perspective. It’s our last game as seniors, we missed graduation, but it was awesome. It was a group effort from an amazing team. I don’t know what to say, this just feels awesome.”
The game ended in storybook fashion as Carson Quillen, one of the schools most decorated athletes used the biggest hit of the day to make sure the golden trophy would be riding the bus back to Greeneville.
In his final at bat as a Greene Devil, on the final play of his illustrious high school career at Greeneville, a career that included All-State selections in football and baseball and the Class Mr. Baseball award, Quillen clinched the state championship with a two-run double.
The ball flew to the deepest part of centerfield and had the defense chasing while Kaine Ricker and Jeriah Griffin easily made it around the bases. With the 10-0, run rule win secured Greeneville’s dugout emptied and they swarmed their jubilant leader standing on second base.
“I didn’t even realize that was the ender,” Quillen said after the win. “I was on second base and I see everybody running at me. Knowing in that moment that it was over felt amazing. That moment I think will mean a lot to me. It’s kind of the cherry on top for my career. But the biggest thing was to get the win.”
The day started with Quillen setting the tone on the mound. The Greene Devils had a game plan for the week and it worked out perfectly. They pulled Quillen from Wednesday’s opening contest with 74 pitches, ad that allowed him to come back with two-days rest for Saturday’s state championship game.
Munford, who played one fewer state-tournament game coming into Saturday, had used up its top three arms and went through four more in the state title game.
Quillen struck out two batters in the first inning to give Greeneville a quick spark. He finished the day with three strikeouts, no walks and six hits allowed in a five-inning complete game. It was the second time in his career at Greeneville that he was winning pitcher in the state championship game.
“We’ve done this a lot, and before the game Carson and I were talking. We wanted to make this our best game. We knew that we were going to do whatever it took to win this game. He got off to a great start and that let us set the tone,” Greeneville catcher Noah Murray said.
Quillen carried over his hot start on the mound to the batter’s box, and he led off the bottom of the first inning with a groundball through the right side. A pair of groundouts put him on third where Will Harmon knocked him in on a groundball deep into the gap on the right side that the Cougars stopped, but could not make a play on.
Greenville blew the game open with five runs in the second inning for a 6-0 lead. They also ended the days of Munford pitchers Houston Yount and John Westerman,
Kobe Mundy led off the side by firing a line drive into centerfield. Kaine Ricker got a shot to land in left field, and both runners moved up when Jeriah Griffin laid down a bunt. To make things even worse for Munford the speedy Griffin beat the throw to first to load the bases.
“Just getting that bunt down on that first at bat was so big for me. It let me settle into the game, and it helped get some important runs in,” Griffin said. “I just had to get the barrel in front of it. Me and coach have worked on getting bunts down all season. I know if I get on base Carson is right behind me, and he can drive in runs.”
With the bases loaded Quillen stepped into the box again and sent a laser past the shortstop that scored two runs. That led to the first call to the bullpen.
Griffin scored on a bases-loaded walk and Quillen scored on a groundout.
Murray pushed the lead to 5-0 with an RBI single to the left side, and Harmon made it 6-0 when he darted home on a passed ball.
“That hit in the second inning felt great. A weight came off my shoulders right there. Then we ended up going up 6-0 and that was huge. We just kept driving from there,” Greeneville senior first baseman Kobe Mundy said.
In the third inning Quillen pounded another impactful hit into right field to score Kaine Ricker from second which stretched the lead to 8-0.
Munford was able to load the bases in the top of the fifth inning, but Quillen ended the threat with a strikeout that preserved the shutout.
The Greene Devils were able to end the game early by run rule and they did it in storybook fashion. Ricker started the side by sending a groundball past the second baseman and Griffin followed with a full-count walk.
That allowed Quillen to end the game with one powerful swing. He sent a two-run double to the deepest part of centerfield that pushed the lead to 10-0.
Quillen finished the day 4-for-4 with a double and five RBIs. Ricker went 2-for-2 with three runs scored, and Griffin was 1-for-1 with two walks and two runs scored. Harmon had two RBIs.
Munford did not have a player with multiple hits. The Cougars used four pitches in the loss, none of them lasted more than 1 1/3 innings.
Greeneville finishes the year with a 36-9 record, which ties the 2023 team for the most wins in program history.
“It’s hard to put into words. I’m kind of said, because its the last game with those seniors. They are a special group. It’s been a hard week, it’s been emotional, and it was fitting the way that it ended,” Greeneville coach Andy Collins said. “I’m going to miss these guys a heck of a lot.”
