Article by Chris Brooks (Hendersonville Star News)

HENDERSONVILLE – If the Beech High baseball team wants to host their half of the District 9-AAA Tournament bracket, they had to go through archrival Hendersonville to do so.

The Buccaneers took an important step toward doing so as sophomore pitcher Dalton Hall held the visiting Commandos in check on Tuesday evening, allowing only two hits in a 7-0 victory.

Hall (5-0) struck out six Commandos and walked three in earning the complete-game victory, needing 95 pitches to do so. However, the right-hander didn't necessarily get ahead of hitters in the count, throwing first-pitch strikes to 11 of 25 batters he faced.

"I just had to calm down and get myself under control, just go from there" Hall said.

The Bucs' offense gave him plenty of help, especially junior Kody Timmons. Timmons had a single, double and triple.

Beech (17-8 overall, 4-1 in the District 9-AAA North Division) got to Hendersonville starting pitcher Will Wacaser (4-3) early and often, scoring six runs on six hits against the Commando junior in 3 2/3 innings. Wacaser was unable to get out of the fourth inning after throwing 78 pitches, being relieved by senior Alec Nelson.

"We felt good going in – and (Wacaser's) a good pitcher – but we had a good approach to him," Beech head coach Jimmy Neal said. "We put the ball in play, and we took advantage of opportunities."

The main damage came in the fourth inning as the Bucs rallied for four runs. Senior Daniel Lankster's infield single scored classmate Nathan Neal, and junior Jacob Jenkins' squeeze bunt scored senior Brady Ballinger from third base for a 4-0 lead.

Wacaser's errant pickoff attempt at first base allowed Lankster to score moments later, and Timmons' infield single plated Jenkins to give Beech a 6-0 lead.

After Wacaser hit junior Isaac Robertson with a pitch – the third batter Wacaser hit in his stint on the mound – Nelson came in and pitched the rest of the contest, allowing one run on three hits while striking out three hitters.

However, Wacaser's troubles were not what left Hendersonville head coach Mike Hendrix disappointed.

"I'm disappointed because we didn't swing the bats real well," Hendrix said. "Our approaches went back to being wild again, and we worked all day (Monday) on having a good approach. I'm sure that (Hall) had something to do with that too."

Neal said one key to Hall's performance was keeping his mechanics under control, which helped induce numerous ground balls. Only four of Hendersonville's outs came via fly balls, while 10 were hit on the ground.

"(Pitches) were low," Neal said. "We just wanted to make sure that he did what he was supposed to do as far as pitching mechanics. That's the big thing with Dalton. If he gets his mechanics right, he brings the ball down."

Hendrix added, "(Hall) pitched a good ballgame. It doesn't matter what grade you're in. If you've got pretty good stuff, you've got a pretty good chance to win a game."

Hendersonville (20-6, 3-1) got runners to second and third in the second inning, but that rally was short circuited when senior Grant Williams was picked off at third base on a failed bunt attempt by senior Braden Schwedt.

Hall didn't allow a hit from the third inning until the seventh, when Williams rapped a double off the right-centerfield wall.

"He pitched, and that's what we talk to our guys about," Neal said. "Sometimes, you've just got to take a little bit off to make sure you throw that strike. It's hard to believe, but he didn't have his good curveball. But he pitched, and sometimes, when you don't have your best stuff that night, you have to make adjustments."

Senior Austin Brown had the only other Commando hit, a single through the left side of the infield as Hendersonville executed a hit-and-run in the second inning.

Jenkins scored on a wild pitch in the first inning, and Timmons doubled in Jenkins in the third for a 2-0 lead.

Timmons tripled in the sixth and scored the game's final run on Robertson's groundout.

The win puts Beech one win away from winning the District 9-AAA North Division. If they defeat the Commandos on Wednesday, they would clinch home-field advantage for their half of the bracket.

A Hendersonville victory would not have clinched the division for the Commandos, as they still have to defeat Gallatin on Monday in a make-up contest.

Either way, both teams are looking toward the district tournament, which is slated to start on May 1.

"The thing about this is, whether you win tomorrow or not, everybody gets a chance in the tournament," Hendrix said. "That's what counts. You want to get hot there. Sure, Beech wants to play (at home), and we want to play (at home). But at least you get to play."

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USSSA BETHESDA BASH - 3RD PLACE

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GAMEDAY MUSIC CITY MADNESS - CHAMPIONS

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The Commandos traveled to Christ Presbyterian Academy to take on the 8th ranked AA team in Tennessee and came away with a 2-0 extra inning victory.

Neither team was able to take advantage of very few chances to score throughout the first seven innings as pitching dominated the day.

HHS used four different pitchers to record their first shutout since March 24.  Brandon Fuller threw three innings, Ian MacMaster two and a third, Alec Nelson came in for one-third of an inning but got a huge strikeout to end a CPA threat in the 6th.  Austin Brown picked up the win throwing the seventh and the eighth inning.

A lead-off double from Cooper Brenning was followed by a bunt single from Justin Long to put runners at first and third to lead off the 8th inning.  Long stole second and Connor Fischer was hit by a pitch to load the bases.   Drew Richard hit the first pitch he saw to centerfield for a sac fly to score courtesy runner Jon Swindle to give HHS a 1-0 lead.  Long scored on an RBI grounder from Grant Williams to give HHS a 2-0 which Brown made hold up to give HHS their first extra-inning win of the year.

 From Chris Brooks - Hendersonville Star News

GALLATIN – The Hendersonville and Gallatin prep baseball teams finally got their first meeting in after waiting four days because of bad weather.

The layoff didn't stop the visiting Commandos from keeping their District 9-AAA North Division record spotless as they never trailed in a 6-1 victory over Gallatin at Municipal Park's David Alexander Field on Friday evening.

Hendersonville (3-0 in the District 9-AAA North Division) struck quickly, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings. That was more than enough run support for a trio of Commando pitchers.

"We've been working all year on continuously scoring from the first inning to the seventh inning," senior leftfielder Drew Richard said. "We haven't been able to do that very well, but we put it together tonight."

Richard helped the Commandos take a first-inning lead by bunting for a base hit, stealing second base and scoring on junior Grant Williams' double to leftfield.

"I've been working on bunting for a hit all year," Richard said. "I feel like I've got some pretty good speed, so laying that down in the first inning was a momentum-shifter."

Hendersonville head coach Mike Hendrix added, "We've been challenging them. We've kind of gotten away from things we do. We've been challenging them all week ... 'when you go to the plate, what can you do to help this team win? Do you have to bunt? Do you have to hit-and-run or do something else?' We've really been working on that."

Senior Austin Brown singled to rightfield, driving in Williams for a 2-0 lead before junior starting pitcher Will Wacaser even threw a pitch.

Wacaser did give up a run early as Gallatin sophomore centerfielder Jordan Mason hit his second home run of the season – a solo shot to right-centerfield – to lead off the bottom of the first inning.

"It was a tremendous shot," Gallatin head coach Mark Wilson said of Mason's home run. "But (Hendersonville's) got a lot of seniors. When you play a senior-laden team, they're experienced, and they're not going to panic on a home run like that."

It cut Hendersonville's lead in half, but from there, hits were hard to come by for the Green Wave. Gallatin (5-15, 0-3) only managed two base hits the rest of the way, with juniors James Rockwell and Hayden Alexander providing those.

"All you need is a spark in high-school baseball," Wilson said. "And when you don't get it, you're continuing to look for someone to hit a bomb, and you can't do that against good teams. You've got to get a little bit at a time."

The Commandos added to their lead in the second inning, with back-to-back singles from senior Connor Fischer and Richard driving in junior Jon Swindle and Fischer, respectively, for a 4-1 lead.

"We don't have a lot of people that can hit the ball out of the ballpark," Hendrix said. "We have to scratch and hunt and do whatever we can, whether it's stealing a base or bunt to get a run."

Richard finished with three hits in four at-bats and drove in two runs, including a fourth-inning single that scored Justin Long for a 5-1 lead.

"I feel pretty confident (at the plate) right now," Richard said. "I'm seeing the ball well right now. (Gallatin) had some good pitchers on the mound. I felt like I could see it really well."

Williams relieved Wacaser – an Austin Peay State University commitment – to begin the third inning and pitched two innings of scoreless relief, striking out four hitters in his stint on the mound. Both hurlers were on a low pitch count as each is expected to pitch against Beech on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"We knew when we didn't play (Thursday) – and we have Beech coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday – that we were going to split Will and Grant, and I had set a pitch limit for 40-45 pitches," Hendrix said. "I think we got both of them out of there around 33-35, so that's like throwing a bullpen session. Hopefully, they'll be ready to come back (against Beech)."

Sophomore right-hander Andrew Dorris earned a three-inning save, his third of the season. Dorris retired all nine hitters that he faced.

"Coach Hendrix has a stable full of pitchers," Wilson said. "When you can bring in a junior and a sophomore in that throws like they do, the future looks really, really bright."

Commando senior first baseman Ben Smith capped the scoring with a solo home run down the rightfield line in the seventh inning.

"The last home run ... hats off to (Smith)," Wilson said. "He hit a bomb."

Gallatin made two errors, ultimately costing the Green Wave three runs while junior starting pitcher Billy Campbell was on the mound in his four innings of work.

"It gets back to this ... when you play a quality team, you can't throw the ball around and make errors," Wilson said. "And you have to continue to hit the ball. If we don't do those two things, it ends up 6-1."

Both teams were anxious to get back on the field after four consecutive days of rainouts.

"No. 1, at this time of year, you get sick of being inside the indoor facility," Hendrix said. "But you've got do what you've got to do. If they're going to get better and we're going to do what we're trying to do, which our first goal is to make it to the regional tournament, we have to work at it."

The Commandos' home-and-home series against Beech could determine the division title, though Hendersonville still has a make-up game against visiting Gallatin on Monday. The division winner earns home-field advantage in their half of the bracket in the District 9-AAA Tournament, which is slated to begin on May 2.

"They're going to be real big," Hendrix said. "Beech has got a good club. They're going to come out ready to play. I just hope our guys are going to come out ready to play."

Gallatin was slated to host Portland on Monday and travel to face the Panthers on Tuesday evening, and the Green Wave are scheduled to host Hume-Fogg on Thursday evening at 7.