SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. - Thomas Baker admits he is not a power hitter.
But Boyd-Buchanan's number nine batter certainly looked the part in kick-starting the offense with a two-run home run in the second inning Monday night in a Region 3-A baseball semifinal against South Pittsburg. That put the Buccaneers ahead, and they fed off the momentum to push two more runs across the plate in that inning and held off a late Pirates rally for a 6-5 win.
"That's only my second home run of the season, and second of my career," Baker said with a wide grin. "I went to the plate looking for a fastball, and their pitcher left one up that I could handle. As soon as I saw their outfielder turn and look up, I kind of knew it was gone. That was a great feeling."
Boyd-Buchanan advances to face district rival Silverdale Baptist in Wednesday's region championship game. The winner of that game will host a sectional game Friday, while the loser must travel. The Bucs, who start four freshmen including all three outfielders, are 1-2 against Silverdale this season.
After South Pittsburg had taken the early lead with a run in the home half of the first, the Bucs (12-9) answered and eventually built a 5-1 cushion on Colby Morgan's fourth-inning solo homer. That was enough for senior Bray Wilson to work with.
The Pirates scored two in the bottom of the sixth and one more in the seventh but also stranded runners at third and second in each of those innings as Cade Evans closed out the game.
"Those early runs were huge for us," Bucs coach Taylor Gilley said. "We've got such a young team, so we really needed something for their confidence. Thomas really sparked our offense and got us going, and the other guys sort of fed off that.
"Our kids battle. That's been the key for us. We just kept fighting the whole game."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.