There were hopes along the riverside campus of scrambling into the state tournament, finding a way to win three games and sending legendary Baylor baseball coach Gene Etter out a winner.
Etter announced in the preseason his plans to step down after more than four decades on the campus as teacher, coach, counselor and friend, and his Red Raiders did their dead-level best to at least get him into the state tournament, entering the Division II-AA quarterfinals with a 21-5 record.
It wasn't to be. In a series plagued by academic, graduation and weather delays, visiting Pope John Paul II ended Baylor's championship drive and Etter's highly successful career. The Knights took the second game of the three-game series, 5-1, and escaped Chattanooga without having to play a third game.
It has been a long weekend for both clubs but especially PJP II and its coach, Michael Brown. They were prohibited from starting the series Thursday in order to meet their administration's academic demands and then had to work around graduation ceremonies Saturday afternoon.
The team bused down late Friday afternoon and returned home late following a rain-delayed 6-1 victory. Then after graduation the Knights boarded the buses again for a 9 p.m. Saturday game that eventually was rained out -- the saving grace being an overnight hotel stay rather than a third round trip from Hendersonville.
"I'm not stopping at Cracker Barrel. I'm not stopping anywhere till I get home," Brown confided. "I can't wait to sleep in my own bed."
He'll have a short stay. The Knights will open their state tournament title bid Tuesday afternoon against perennial state power Christian Brothers.
As the game ended and PJP's initial celebration ended, Etter was there, the first of Baylor's crew to congratulate Brown and the Knights.
"You know he had to be hurting, but he wasn't focused on himself. He was focused on others, and that's why he has been so successful throughout his career," Brown said. "The man just exudes class, and to be able to learn from him and to watch him work the last eight years has been one of the best privileges of my career."
The Knights broke on top in the first 2-0, added a run in the third and two in the fourth. Leading the way were Ben Brooks and Pace Dempsey, who scored two runs apiece. Brooks reached base in all four of his plate appearances with two singles and two walks, while Dempsey singled, got hit by a pitch and laid down a sacrifice bunt. Logan Taylor also had two hits, and PJP II took advantage of five free passes and a hit batsmen.
Just as important to their success was the pitching of Jack Gallagher, who pitched four innings of shutout ball -- escaping a bases-loaded threat in the fourth and back-to-back singles to open the fifth -- and reliever Dalton Keith, who allowed just one Baylor run the rest of the way.
Etter was still more focused on the final game of his career than the fact his career had ended.
"We just couldn't get the big hit. You have to give a lot of credit to them. They were a lot better than they were when we played them two weeks ago," he said, briefly recalling Baylor's back-to-back 10-run-rule wins.
As for his last game, he paused, perhaps collecting himself before saying, "It started hitting me that last inning. I thought we'd get somebody on, but it didn't happen. It was quick and sweet -- sweet for somebody."
As he stepped from the dugout to meet well-wishing parents, fellow teachers and supporters, the coach was greeted with a resounding ovation. He finally reached up and removed his cap, said a few words and then asked a bystander nearby if all was ready for the team's banquet. As Brown said, "Always thinking of others."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.