ROGERSVILLE — The Cherokee baseball team bounced back from a rough Monday loss to conference-leading Greeneville to pick up a senior night win over Claiborne on Tuesday.
Before Tuesday’s game, the Chiefs honored seniors Cole Putnal, Noah Hunter, Jacob Brooks, Bryce Elliott and Keaton Lawson and their families on the field. Then, the quintet went to work doing what they’ve done all year — leading the Chiefs into battle.
“They all play key roles — in our offense, our defense, our pitching staff. They’re playing night in and night out. They’re worn out, but they continue to find ways to get their jobs done and I couldn’t be more proud of all of them,” said Cherokee coach Gus Fraley. “They’re leaders, and they take on their roles with pride.”
The Chiefs (15-8, 6-4) got four RBIs each from Putnal and Lawson to lead the offensive attack in the 13-3 Twin Lakes Conference win over the Bulldogs. Putnal was 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles. Lawson was 3 for 4 with a double. Bryce Elliott also doubled on a long shot over the left fielder’s head. He later picked up an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Hunter started and earned the win for the Chiefs. He allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Bryce Elliott threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the save. He walked one and struck out two.
In addition to the seniors, Cherokee got two hits from Clay Wagoner and one each from Gage Adkins and Manning Brooks to finish with 11 hits. They also drew nine walks without a strikeout in the game.
“After the unfortunate turn of events last night and not performing how we’re expected to play, this was a good night to refresh our memory on some successful things,” Fraley said. “Hopefully, we’re getting the wheels going in the right direction.”
Greeneville 14, Cherokee 0
The “unfortunate turn of events” Fraley referenced was a disappointing 14-0 loss to league-leading Greeneville on Monday (April 15) in a game that looked eerily similar to the Chiefs’ season-opening loss to the Greene Devils.
On March 13, Greeneville’s Carson Quillen tossed a five-inning no-hitter in a 10-0 win over the Chiefs. On Monday, the Mr. Baseball finalist and Virginia Tech commit returned to the hill at The Reservation and threw 4 1/3 innings of no-hit baseball before giving way to sophomore Sam Thompson, who finished the job with the last two outs of the game. Quillen walked one (the final batter he faced) and struck out six.
Greeneville’s Colton Richards, who was 4 for 4 on March 13, also delivered a repeat performance on Monday — going 4 for 4 with two doubles and six RBIs. Kaine Ricker and Noah Murray each drove in two runs for the Greene Devils, who improved to 7-1 in conference play. Connor Ireland was 3 for 4.
Greeneville led 4-0 after the first inning and never looked back as they racked up 11 hits and took advantage of seven Cherokee errors.
Lawson started and took the loss for Cherokee. He was charged with six runs (one earned) on five hits, walked two and struck out two in two innings of work. Parker Travis finished the game, giving up eight runs (four earned) on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
Halls 7, Cherokee 5
KNOXVILLE — Knox Halls scored five runs in the final two innings to come from behind and beat the Chiefs 7-5 on Wednesday night (April 17) in a nonconference battle.
Cherokee scored four runs in the second inning to take a 4-2 lead and held it until the bottom of the fifth when the Red Devils mounted a comeback. Trailing 5-4, the Chiefs were able to tie the score in the sixth but couldn’t hold Halls at bay in the home half of the inning.
Putnal went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI to lead Cherokee. Mason Emery and Jake Elliott each had a hit and an RBI for the Chiefs. Clay Wagoner also drove in a run.
Gage Adkins got the start and threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits with four walks and three strikeouts. Bryce Elliott pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief, giving up two runs on one hit and two walks.
Looking ahead
Weather permitting, the Chiefs will host Greene Fling (Buddy Hawk Baseball Classic) games on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20, before gearing up for their final week of District 2-3A regular-season action.
The Chiefs will wrap up conference play with two big road games — at Grainger on Tuesday, April 23, and at Volunteer on Thursday, April 25 — which will have a major impact on the seeding for the District 2-3A baseball tournament. So far this season, the Chiefs (15-8, 6-4) are 2-0 against the Grizzlies and split with the Falcons.
They’ll finish the regular season with nonconference matchups at Boone (April 26) and D-B (April 27).
The District 2-3A baseball tournament is scheduled for May 1-4 at Tusculum University.
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