Turner Junkins was amped up on the mound.
Silverdale Baptist's senior leader and Middle Tennessee State signee topped 90 miles per hour on the radar gun even in the seventh inning on his way to a complete game, three-hit 4-0 victory over Division II-A region foe Notre Dame in the first game of a doubleheader Monday.
Junkins threw 66 strikes to just 21 balls on his way to striking out 13 batters, which included his final three outs on 10 pitches.
"My fastball was working really well for me and I could pretty much place it wherever I wanted," said Junkins, a 2022 Mr. Baseball finalist who also plays shortstop and catcher for Silverdale. "My guys really pumped me up when they put some runs up for me with big hits. I was really fired up out there to shut the door after that."
In what has been a recent trend, the Seahawks broke through with the long ball as their five and six hole hitters came through in the bottom of the fourth in a scoreless game.
Seniors Brody Lamb and Eric Boggess slugged back-to-back home runs over the high right field fence for a 2-0 lead. An inning later, senior Brett Rogers obliterated a ball on the inner half of the plate for a 2-run homer to right that nearly traveled across Bonny Oaks Drive.
"We talked in the dugout before the fourth inning that the way Turner was throwing, if we could get him one run we would have a chance to win," Seahawks coach Lance Rorex said. "They really locked in there and they put the barrels on the baseball. They woke up there and got things moving."
Silverdale has now hit 13 home runs this season, which includes nine in a recent three-game stretch against Signal Mountain, Chattanooga Christian and Notre Dame.
Rogers swung a hot bat the entire day as he went 5-for-6 with four runs batted in to help lead his team to a sweep as the Seahawks completed the sweep with a 12-1 win. Maddox Jones drove in three runs in the nightcap and also combined for nine strikeouts over five innings with Alex Slycord.
Notre Dame senior catcher Sam Smith -- a four-year starter -- had two of his team's three hits in game one, which included a double in the seventh, and drove in the only run of the day. Wofford signee Alec Bouchard went 3-for-3 in game two for the Fighting Irish, who committed six errors and gave up 11 runs in the third inning of the second game.
Silverdale Baptist (7-3) won its sixth straight game and its senior class of 14 now has an overall record of 71-15-2 in their varsity careers.
"The difference this year for me as a leader has been we are connecting with the younger players around our campus, including middle schoolers and younger kids," Junkins said. "Brett, Ian (Reagan) and myself have been giving baseball lessons to a bunch of kids. We want to leave a legacy to where when those younger players come up to high school they know what Silverdale baseball is about and how we do things."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.