Lookout Valley is going back to a region baseball tournament after turning in one of its most complete performances of the season.
The Yellow Jackets got two-hit pitching from Hayden Turner, outstanding defense including two gems by first baseman Cory McKaig and home runs from Daniel Patrick and Caleb Cass in a 6-0 victory over top-seeded Marion County in the District 6-A tournament Tuesday.
“We came out yesterday really wanting to play, but the games got canceled (because of rain) so we wanted to go out and play well today,” Turner said.
“We’re getting better,” said Jackets coach David Dinger, whose team got seven hits and played error-free behind Turner. “I told the guys to enjoy it tonight because tomorrow it doesn’t matter what you did yesterday. For us it’s still a learning process, a building process that never stops.”
Lookout Valley moved into tonight’s championship game and will play either Marion County or South Pittsburg. The losers-bracket final will begin at 5 at Lookout Valley and will be followed by the first championship game. If Lookout Valley should fall, a second championship game will be played Thursday.
The top two finishers advance to the single-elimination region playoffs Monday.
Turner (5-0) was staked to a 2-0 lead before he ever went to the mound thanks to a single by McKaig, who leads the Jackets in RBIs with 43. Patrick walked and Aaron O’Dell doubled ahead of McKaig, and both scored on his hit to right-center.
“Scoring those runs early gave us a lot of confidence. It’s the first game we have scored early in a while,” said Turner, a junior left-hander.
The Jackets increased their lead to 4-0 on home runs by Patrick and Cass in the third inning and got a pair of big insurance runs in the seventh on Patrick’s second homer, a shot to left.
“That homer in the seventh was really big,” Dinger said. “You want that five-run lead where a grand slam — one swing of the bat — isn’t going to beat you.”
Dinger said much of the credit for the victory belonged to Turner, who allowed only two hits.
“McKaig got the RBIs early and he turned in a really good game defensively, but a lot of the highlights belong to Hayden,” Dinger said. “Not many people do that against Marion County. They hit it well at times, but they hit it right at us and we also made some plays.”
Turner had not pitched since getting a concussion in practice five days ago, when a ball hit him squarely in the teeth.
“I’m OK now,” said Turner, who told Dinger when he got hit that he was OK other than seeing two of everything.
“His changeup is usually a good pitch for him, but tonight he couldn’t get it over,” Dinger said. “What saved him was that his fastball had a lot of movement.”