Splinted thumb fails to stop Trojans' Cordell in 12-2 win over Hurricanes

Soddy-Daisy's Luke Ellis makes the catch as East Hamilton's Lee Hester dives safely back to first Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at Soddy-Daisy High School.
Soddy-Daisy's Luke Ellis makes the catch as East Hamilton's Lee Hester dives safely back to first Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at Soddy-Daisy High School.

A broken thumb kept Grant Cordell from going behind the plate but did little to keep the senior from performing at the plate.

Despite the fracture, suffered 10 days ago in a preseason scrimmage, Cordell stroked a pair of doubles and knocked in four runs as Soddy-Daisy opened its rain-delayed Tennessee high school baseball season with a six-inning, 12-2 District 5-AAA victory over visiting East Hamilton.

The game was a matchup of 2015 state tournament attendees but was not reminiscent of the teams' series of epic battles last year in reaching the Spring Fling.

"We didn't resemble the state tournament team of 2015," East Hamilton coach Steve Garland said. "Soddy-Daisy was more aggressive than us, more athletic than us. They competed. We didn't look like we were ready to go, and that's on me. This is just the beginning. We'll be better."

What the Hurricanes found lacking from 2015, Soddy-Daisy seems to have carried over.

"I got what I expected from my guys," Trojans coach Jared Hensley said. "We have worked on having a good approach, whether it's six innings or seven innings or nine innings. We just wanted to worry about what we do, and that's a carry-over from last year's region and state tournaments."

The Trojans roughed up four pitchers for 11 hits while senior right-hander Gavin Rogers, a West Alabama signee, scattered six hits while striking out five.

"He's a pitcher. He's been doing this a pretty long time - started for us for four years now," Hensley said. "He'll tell you he gave up a hit or two or missed a couple of spots, but he's a complete pitcher. He made some big pitches, got some people out and threw strikes."

The Trojans gave Rogers early support with Cordell ripping a bases-loaded double to right-center in the bottom of the first.

As his team's designated hitter, he added another RBI in the fourth as Soddy-Daisy broke on top 10-1, capping a pretty good effort for a guy with a splinted thumb that prevented any bend. He was awarded a game ball, which his coach doesn't do all the time.

"I didn't know until yesterday afternoon whether he'd be able to go," Hensley said. "I knew that Logan Workman would do a fine job defensively, and he did, but Grant being so experienced in the lineup offensively was a boost for him. He came in Sunday afternoon and hit a little bit and said he felt good to go, but I told him he'd have to talk with his dad."

Hensley got a call from Cordell's father Monday afternoon, giving the go-ahead.

"He looked good to me," the coach said. "That three-run double in the bottom of the first was seniors doing what you expect."

Another senior, Tre Carter, added a three-run home run in the bottom of the second, expanding the Trojans' lead to 6-1.

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

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