CLEVELAND, Tenn. – For the past 734 days, Cason Still and his Bradley Central baseball teammates had waited and worked diligently for a rematch with Cookeville and its ace, T.J. Webb.
Two years ago as a sophomore, Webb used a baffling assortment of off-speed pitches to end the Bears’ season in a Region 3-AAA semifinal shutout. Two years later, the Bears combined Still’s blazing speed and clutch hitting with Brandon Thompson’s dominant pitching to break through Webb’s hold and reach the region championship game.
The tone for Monday’s 4-1 victory was set with Thompson’s first two pitches of the game – a fastball and a curve – and Still’s single to open the home half of the first inning. Still, who was 3-for-4, came around to score the first run, and Thompson no-hit the Cavaliers for 4 2/3 innings.
The Bears (27-6) will travel to Rhea County on Wednesday to face the Eagles in the 3-AAA title game.
“We’ve been waiting for this and looking forward to facing him again,” Still said. “We wanted come out fast, and it’s my job to put pressure on the defense with my speed. And with the way Brandon pitches, he gives us confidence and it’s easy to play defense behind him.”