Silverdale Baptist Academy players hold the runner-up trophy after losing to Friendship Christian at MTSU during Spring Fling Friday in Murfreesboro.MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – It was more a football move or even something out of the WWE than what you’d expect to see on a baseball field.
Seconds after striking out the final batter he faced, Friendship Christian pitcher Brennan Swindoll tossed his glove into the air, then ran toward his catcher Gunner Osborne, who was charging toward him. Swindoll lowered his shoulder into Osborne’s midsection, wrapped both arms around him and form-tackled his teammate to the ground to start a celebratory dog-pile after the Commanders’ 4-0 victory over Silverdale Baptist Academy for the Class A state championship.
“It was just such a great feeling, to win it all as a senior,” said Swindoll, who played defensive back for the Commanders football team that won state titles in 2011 and ’12. “There’s no better time to win it all than your senior year. It’s something me and everyone on the team will always remember.”
Swindoll, a Chattanooga State signee, went the distance, striking out nine and scattering seven hits. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning, striking out the final two batters, in preserving the shutout and earning his second win of the state tournament.
“I just tried to relax and hit my spots in that situation,” Swindoll said. “I wasn’t nervous. I felt confident in several pitches and I knew the defense had my back, so I just tried to make good pitches.