Soddy-Daisy Trojans elbow past Commandos 8-7 in Spring Fling

The Soddy-Daisy Trojans celebrate a three-run home run by Dillon Clift, far left, early in their game against the Hurricanes on May 13, 2015.
The Soddy-Daisy Trojans celebrate a three-run home run by Dillon Clift, far left, early in their game against the Hurricanes on May 13, 2015.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Levi Thornton used his bat for a hit and then used his elbow for the game-winner Tuesday evening as Soddy-Daisy rallied twice for an 8-7 Class AAA Spring Fling baseball victory over Hendersonville.

The Commandos jumped to 4-0 and 7-4 leads before the Trojans rallied for the win with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Thornton might not even ice the elbow after getting plunked with the score tied and the bases loaded.

"That's a new one for me," he said of the winning RBI. "It's not as good as a hit, but I'd rather take it and win for the team instead of striking out or grounding out."

Andy Wright relieved Soddy-Daisy pitcher Gavin Rogers with the score tied at 4 in the seventh, but the Trojans committed a couple of miscues that led to three Commandos runs. Wright's teammates were up to the challenge, though.

With one out in the final at-bat, Tre Carter lined a single up the middle and Chandler Sulcer walked. Rogers then singled in a run. Wright reached on a third-strike passed ball to reload the bases, and back-to-back walks to Grant Cordell and Justin Cooke tied the score at 7, setting the stage for Thornton's deciding plate appearance.

The Trojans, who survived an extra-inning game last Friday on Rogers' towering two-run homer, never flinched when they fell behind 4-0 in the second or 7-4 after their tying four-run sixth.

"Somebody asked me earlier if I thought the guys would play scared. I told them our guys are too stupid to be scared," relieved and jubilant coach Jared Hensley said around a wide grin.

Soddy-Daisy wound up with eight hits and worked four Commandos pitchers for four walks and the game-deciding hit batsman.

"Our plate discipline late was superb," Hensley said. "I don't think we told a single guy to be taking pitches in the seventh. You never know when that one good pitch will be the only one you see."

The Trojans' sixth-inning rally to tie the game featured Carter's two-run homer, a smoking liner that easily cleared the right-field wall 340 feet from home plate.

Carter and Rogers were each 2-for-4, and Rogers also had an RBI along with Thornton. Cordell and Cooke each contributed two RBIs.

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.

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