Boyd-Buchanan baseball coach Steve Robbins thought he saw South Pittsburg coach Wes Stone in the stands and looked for him Friday after the Buccaneers’ 4-0 victory over Grace Academy.
“I guess he got bored and left,” Robbins said after the Bucs sewed up the District 5-A tournament championship. “I’m afraid we weren’t as sharp at the plate as I would have liked.”
Boyd-Buchanan had seven hits but left eight runners stranded, including six in scoring position. The players weren’t as focused as Bucs coaches are used to seeing, perhaps because most already have finished school.
“We have 10 seniors and we have graduation Saturday,” Robbins said.
Grace pitcher Cooper Wittman, who induced six pop-up or fly-ball outs and struck out six, was the other part of Boyd-Buchanan’s problematic equation.
“Their guy did a good job,” Robbins said.
“Early in the season he was throwing extremely well, but lately he had been going deep into counts,” Grace coach Ruston Pierce said of Wittman. “But today, from the third inning on he was locating (pitches) well.”
Wittman was outdueled, however, by Bucs lefty Eric Tompkins, who got quality defense in recording a one-hitter. It was Tompkins’ first win of the year.
“We hadn’t faced a lefty in three weeks, and he did a good job of locating his pitches,” Pierce said. “Then if we did put it in play, they made good plays.”
Tompkins struck out nine and allowed the Bucs to finish the district tournament without giving up a run.
They will need every available pitcher to make a run through the region and beyond, because Clayton Parker has been lost for the season. Playing first base Monday, Parker turned to tag the runner after a throw pulled him off the bag on the first play of the game. The resulting collision dislocated the elbow on Parker’s non-pitching arm, and he will remain in a cast for at least six weeks.
Boyd-Buchanan got the only run it would need Friday in the first inning. Leadoff man Zach Allen banged out the first of his three singles, stole second, advanced to third on an error and scored on Trey McCalla’s sacrifice fly to center. McCalla and Matthew Crowe scored in the third and Trey Ferguson crossed the plate in the fifth.
Allen and Tyler Garner were the only Bucs with multiple hits. Matt Ruebusch’s double was Grace’s lone hit.
Boyd-Buchanan will host South Pittsburg while Grace plays at District 6 champion Lookout Valley in Region 3-A semifinals Monday.