Eagleville’s baseball team finished a clean sweep of the Class 1A state tournament bracket with a win a 6-3 win over East Robertson on Friday at MTSU’s Reese Smith Field.
The Eagles win the state championship for the second year in a row, and the second time in school history.
“Unbelievable,” Eagleville coach Brandon Bassham said. “We lost our top four hitters in the lineup and these kids just never wilted. We get Peabody in our bracket whose been No. 1 one all year, and these guys took it as a challenge.
“That’s something we’ve talked about all year, just accepting that role of trying to defend a championship. And we did it again.”
The Eagles took down Peabody by five runs twice in a row in the tournament.
Eagleville controlled the contest from the opening inning. After quickly jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first, the Eagles defense held firm to prevent an East Robertson comeback.
In the third inning, East Robertson made run and scored two after a balk moved runners into scoring position. But Eagleville scored a run in each of the final three innings to hold on for the win.
Brody McLemore, Brady Burns and Nathan Brown led the Eagles with two hits each. Burns and Brown each finished with two RBIs, and Brayden Baker led with two runs scored.
Josh Jeffcoat pitched all seven for the Eagles. He finished with 74 strikes on 105 pitches, with nine strikeouts and only two walks. He held six runners on base to end innings as well.
This Eagleville group will certainly go down in history.
“This group played three games their freshman year and the season gets cancelled, and this is the end of that story. You can’t write that man,” Basshman said. “Not only great players, but these are just high-quality kids, and that’s what makes this so fun. I haven’t had one trouble all year — really. I’m living the dream to be honest with you. That’s what I’m doing.”
“It’s unbelievable,” senior center fielder Ben Thompson added. “We’ve only won twice in school history. It just means a lot to us, and going out with a win to end my high school career is awesome.”
But even with a championship, this game represents the end of the season and the last time this group will play together.
“Just missing everybody I’m not going to play with again,” Thompson said about his biggest takeaway from the season. “People.”