McCallie outlasts Ringgold

Alex Burd was the only McCallie batter without a hit, but he loomed large Thursday evening for the Blue Tornado baseball team.

The second baseman contributed two sacrifice flies and his first pitching save. He entered the game with two in and one on and got the final two outs to quell a Ringgold rally as McCallie outlasted the visiting Tigers 10-8.

“I don’t know if (late-inning relief) is going to be his role. We’re still trying to determine those,” McCallie coach Chris Richardson said. “The only two pitching roles that are defined are Taylor Smith and Chase Brookshire, and they’re going to start.”

Both are likely to hit also on the days they take the mound. Playing first base Thursday, Brookshire was 3-for-3 with an RBI and Smith, the designated hitter, added a single and an RBI. Also getting three hits was James Campbell, who batted in three runs.

Campbell is one of the more versatile Tornado players, able to play third base, behind the plate and in left and right field.

“We have so many guys who are position players than can throw, we almost have to be two-deep,” Richardson said. “Stuart (Voges) is a good shortstop, but we’re going to have to have somebody at short when he pitches. We’ll see how it plays out.”

It played out well with three Blue Tornado pitchers — Voges, Chad Lee and Burd — holding off the potent Tigers.

“Ringgold is a very good-hitting club,” Richardson said. “We got behind in the count to some of their guys, and you can’t do that against good-hitting teams. Luckily we played at home where there’s a lot of space gap to gap.”

McCallie’s field, with 390-foot power alleys and a 405-foot shot to dead center, couldn’t hold Ringgold third baseman Drew Walker or shortstop Zack Lance. Walker stroked a two-run home run in the first inning and added two deep doubles. Lance had a two-run homer in the sixth.

Justin Harris and Zeth Ford added two hits apiece for the Tigers.

Ringgold fell to 2-2 in a grueling season start that includes wins over Georgia power Calhoun and Bradley Central, an 11-inning loss to Red Bank, Tennessee’s District 6-AAA favorite, and a loss to McCallie, which finished last year as Tennessee’s Division II runner-up.

“And now we’re going to Bradley tomorrow,” said Brent Tucker, who’s in his first year coaching the Tigers. “It’s the kind of schedule that will teach intensity and the mindset that you have to come ready to play every day. If I was giving us a grade, I’d probably give us a B. The kids are getting used to me and how I want us to play. The effort was good but not where I want us to be.”

He could do without the four errors the the Tigers committed against McCallie.

“They were plays that should have been made, plays that we’re capable of making,” Tucker said.

He used young pitchers, and they were under enough pressure without spotty defensive support. Starter Eric Hull was pitching in his first varsity game. He gave way to Colton Cross early, and Tyler Proctor finished up.

“We wanted to see some young arms, and they did well,” Tucker said. “There were positives: We scored eight runs; we finished strong (four runs in the last two innings); we hit the ball solidly and had some good at-bats. There were positives throughout the game.”