CLEVELAND, Tenn. — After two state tournament trips the past three seasons with veteran teams, Cleveland High School baseball coach Ted Carson entered the 2010 season with more rookies than experienced players and more questions than answers.
Of course there also was the asterisk for shortstop Derek Shugart, a three-year starter coming into the season.
Shugart has a reputation for clutch hitting and he added to that reputation Tuesday night. The senior stroked a two-out, two-strike, seventh-inning triple to plate two runs as Cleveland rallied for a 9-7 victory over District 5-AAA and cross-county rival Walker Valley.
“Their pitcher left one a little up and I was on it,” Shugart said.
The game was a blend of missed opportunities, blown leads and obviously comebacks.
Cleveland jumped ahead 4-0 on the Mustangs, who helped the Blue Raiders’ offense with four errors, two wild pitches and a hit batsman.
Despite the miscues, Walker Valley battled back to take a 5-4 lead before extending it to 7-4 heading into the top of the seventh.
“When we were down 5-4, I felt we still had a chance,” Carson said.
He wasn’t so sure after No. 9 hitter Josh Lawson’s home run to straightaway center in the fifth added two Mustangs runs. A single strike separated them from their second win in highly competitive District 5-AAA.
Cody Clanton got one of the runs back for Cleveland with a leadoff homer. Two groundouts, a walk and a passed-ball third strike brought Shugart to the plate for his typing triple.
“Derek did it for us last year, and he couldn’t have come through with a bigger hit,” Carson said.
Shugart scored the winning run on a wild pitch.
“Coming in, we had three or four starters back. I wasn’t worried about our hitting, but I was worried about our defense,” he said.
While Walker Valley’s defense struggled, Cleveland didn’t have a single error.
“I didn’t expect us to start our 3-0,” Shugart said. “We have had to have some young guys step up, and they have done a great job.”
The two teams will meet again tonight at Cleveland.
“Tomorrow’s another day,” Carson said.
“I’m sure they’ll come ready to play, but so will we,” Shugart added.
The triple was Shugart’s only hit, but he walked three times and also scored the Blue Raiders’ first run. Clanton provided Cleveland’s top offensive showing with a 3-for-4 night, two runs scored and an RBI, and Brett Cranston added two RBIs with a first-inning double. Brandon Zajac and William Zierenberg provided most of Walker Valley’s scoring punch. Each was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.