Undone by errors, Pirates eliminated from state tournament

South Pittsburg's Travis Rowell (13) safely dives back to third base against Trinity Christian during Spring Fling XXV at Middle Tennis Christian School's Joe Baron Field on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
South Pittsburg's Travis Rowell (13) safely dives back to third base against Trinity Christian during Spring Fling XXV at Middle Tennis Christian School's Joe Baron Field on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - One of the strengths that had helped South Pittsburg reach the Class A state baseball tournament - its defense - became its biggest weakness Wednesday and the reason the Pirates were eliminated with two losses.

South Pittsburg committed a total of 12 errors - including 10 in its first game of the day - in a 10-2 defeat by defending state champion Loretto and a 7-4 loss to Trinity Christian.

"I'm trying to remember the last time we booted just a routine ground ball, and I honestly can't," Pirates coach Brian Paris said. "But we definitely made a season's worth of mistakes today, and that cost us."

After winning its state tournament opener on Tuesday, South Pittsburg's error spree against Loretto (33-2) opened the door for three runs in the second inning and six in the fifth, after the Pirates had pulled within 4-2.

The Pirates (24-12) followed with two errors against Trinity Christian, and a 4-3 lead in the fifth turned into the three-run loss.

"We've got a lot of young talent, but the ball seems to find freshmen in the state tournament and cause them to tense up and do things they typically wouldn't," Paris said. "You can't do that against quality teams like we saw today.

"It's bittersweet because I hate that it comes to an end like this for our seniors, but I'm really proud that they got to experience this. Those seniors set the standard and showed how to play the game. If our younger kids learned from them, they can have a lot more success."

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.

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