MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Lightning delayed the game for more than three hours, but it was Riverside pitcher Stephen Gant who dampened Boyd-Buchanan’s night most.
The sophomore right-hander allowed just one hit in four innings, striking out eight and not issuing a walk in a dominant 10-0, five-inning victory for the Panthers in the Class A baseball state championship game.
“He threw hard and shut us down,” Buccaneers coach Steve Robbins said. “He was just that good. Once we got behind a few runs, we knew it was going to be really tough against him.
“We got run-ruled in our first game of the season and our last game. Every game between that was pretty good and our guys have hit the ball all year, but we couldn’t get anything against him tonight. He was throwing it in the mid to upper 80s. He’s tough.”
Gant also had a two-run double and was 2-for-3 at the plate.
After pounding out 25 hits and 21 runs in their first three state-tournament games, the Bucs managed only a fourth-inning single by Tyler Garner against the Panthers.
RIVERSIDE 10, BOYD-BUCHANAN 0Boyd-Buchanan 000 00 — 0 1 3Riverside 010 36 — 10 12 0WP: Stephen Gant. LP: Matthew Crowe. 2B: Gant (R). Other highlights: Tyler Garner 1-2 (BB); Ryne Bivens 2-4, 3 RBIs (R). Records: Riverside 34-5; Boyd-Buchanan 25-8.
The Bucs, who were making their state-tournament debut, won two games by rallying late but never were able to muster any offense Friday night.
“It’s just one of those deals where you’re heartbroken for the boys,” Robbins said. “But in the same sense we’re really proud of them to get here for the first time in program history. We went through a lot of adversity just to get to the championship game, so it’s not a bad season at all. But it still stinks to lose.”
The Panthers got their first run in the second inning, then expanded the lead with three in the fourth before ending the game with a six-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth.
Ryne Bivens was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Aaron Keen went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for the Panthers.
