There was a pile at home plate and the pile seemed to grow, reaching close to a height of at least three feet and a width of eight.
It was a dogpile -- Soddy-Daisy style -- and at the bottom was Gavin Rogers, the ninth-inning hero of the Trojans' near improbable comeback victory over Smyrna.
It was just as well he was breathless and hidden from the overflow crowd at Tom Higgins' field, because the hero of a 3-2 Class AAA sectional win that nailed Soddy-Daisy's state tournament trip with a sledge hammer was crying.
"I owed Coach (Jared Hensley) one," was all he could manage to say as he accepted hugs, chest-bumps and slaps on the back -- along with a hug and several kisses from his mother.
The visitors had taken a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth, the run crossing when a throw to third skipped into left field after Oz Perez, the covering third baseman, popped a knee trying to scurry to the bag.
It had become now-or-never even more than the bottom of the seventh or eighth because the Trojans were down a run.
Veteran Dillon Clift led off with a crisp single just to the left of the second-base bag, setting the stage for Rogers. With a full count and the umpire living on a wide strike zone most of the night, Rogers never flinched. The minute his bat made contact, the cheers began in the Soddy-Daisy stands as well as the dugout.
The shot was high and deep and would have cleared any left-field wall in the 423 area code.
It was a comeback that few outside the Soddy-Daisy circle would have imagined, especially those who watched the Trojans in their lesser moments during the season.
"Ten days ago I would've thought that these guys didn't deserve this. But in the last week they have played like they deserved it and they earned it. I'm tickled to death," Hensley bubbled.
"Gavin owed me one. I'll tell you that and no more and he'll tell you that he owed me one, but I guess now I'll let him off the hook."
Rogers was still trying to gather himself emotionally 20 minutes or so after the heroics that will forever tie him to Soddy-Daisy baseball.
"I'm just glad I came through for my team and put us in the state," he said. "This is the greatest group of guys you'll ever meet, hands down. I love every one of them."
Smyrna lefty Cameron Harper battled the Trojans all night, holding them to five hits until the ninth while locked in a duel with Soddy-Daisy starter Hunter Maynor and reliever Andy Wright, who was credited with the win.
"Our execution at the plate was good. That guy was just awesome," Hensley said. "I told him he deserved better than that."
But he also had praise for Maynor and Wright.
"I told Hunter if he'd get us through five that Andy could finish it and we'd win it. Hat's off to both of those guys," the coach said. "Beyond that, I just don't know what to think. These guys have grown up so much this year but especially in the last week. I'm overwhelmed. I just don't know what to say."
* Loudon 3, Chattanooga Christian 2 (11): In a Class AA sectional, Josh Taylor homered, Tucker Elsea was 1-for-2 with the other RBI and Jared Miller had two hits for CCS, and Loudon squeaked by while totaling 13 hits. Jesse Smallen was 5-for-6 and scored a run for the winners.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.