COLUMBIA, Tenn. -- Hits were late to come and strikeouts were many for East Hamilton batters, but the Hurricanes battled back to post a 7-3 extra-inning TSSAA Class AAA sectional baseball victory Saturday over Columbia Central.
East Hamilton, hitless until having one out in the sixth inning, scored three times in that inning to tie the score. In the eighth, the Hurrricanes tallied four runs to earn a berth in the state tournament this week.
The Hurricanes had one baserunner through five innings, and he was picked off. Columbia hurler Jonathan Davis was in full command with 11 of his 16 strikeouts at that point.
"I don't even know what to say," said East Hamilton coach Steve Garland. "We were getting no-hit in the sixth. Davis was just on us. It's just a testament to our guys never quit and the Lord works in mysterious ways.
"This is the third one of these (sectionals) we've been to in five years and looked like we would get the same results as the previous two."
Kyle Cox's one-out single in the eighth drove in Matt Waters with the tiebreaking run, and then a pair of hit batters and a two-run single by Nick Fahler extended the lead to 6-3. Hunter Smith's single added an insurance run.
Hurricanes pitcher Nick Woods retired three of the four batters he faced in the bottom of the inning to complete an eight-inning performance. Woods whiffed the final two Lions to bring his game total to nine. He walked two and allowed seven hits, but only one during the final five innings.
"You have got to play to the final out," Garland said. "If there was ever a team that was dead and buried through five innings, it was us. You have got to play the whole game, and my guys kept playing."
Columbia (24-12) went ahead 1-0 in the first inning when Alabama signee Alex Wood doubled and scored on a single by Spencer Holt. The Lions added two runs in the third on a walk and three singles. East Hamilton right fielder Josh Aslinger threw out a potential run to complete an inning-ending double play.
The Hurricanes knotted the score in the sixth on a walk, a single by Garrett Stone, an RBI double by Matt Milita and a two-out throwing error that allowed two runs to score.
It was a tough loss for Davis, who had faced the minimum through five innings.
"Columbia has got a great team," Garland said. "Davis was awesome, Webb, what a stud. (Columbia) Coach (Mark) Pickle is just first class -- great coach, first-class ambassador for the game. Everybody in baseball knows and loves Mark Pickle."
Stone, the ninth-place hitter, was the lone player for the winners with two hits. Dylan Horne had two hits for Columbia.
The Class AAA state tournament begins at 4 p.m. CDT Tuesday with Siegel and Oakland high schools as the sites in Murfreesboro. The brackets will be finalized today.