The Commandos opened play in the 2018 Prep Baseball Report Border Battle by defeating Bowling Green KY 8-1.

Sophomore Caid Sanders went the distance on the mound throwing a one-hitter while striking out 6 and walking only 1 to collect his third win of the year.

Offensively the Commandos were led by Brett Coker who was 3-4 and had two RBIs and a run scored. 

Game 3 of the PBR KY/TN Border Battle saw a change of schedule due to weather and Commandos getting a rematch with the Purples of Bowling Green.

The second game between the two teams had a similar result as the first contest as the Commandos came out on top 8-2.  6 Commandos tallied a hit on the day with Hayden Mullins leading the way going 2-4.  Harrison Williams had a two-RBI day as did Hayden Layne for the Commandos.

It was a "Johnny Whole Staff" Day on the mound for HHS.  Hayden Layne went three innings, Harrison Williams two, Kobe Carter and Eric Altizer one inning each holding the Purples to no earned runs.

With the win HHS improves to 15-3 overall on the year and will be back in District 9AAA action vs Beech on Tuesday night at 7:00 at Drakes Creek Park. 

In a game bewteen two of the most storied AAA programs in the state Farragut got the best of the Commandos 7-5.  It was the team's first meeting since the 2003 state touranment where Farragut beat the Commandos 10-9 in 9 innings en route to a state championship. 

Farragut jumped out to a 5-0 lead by getting two-out hits in the first and second innings.

Good work on the mound out of the bulpen by Eli Steffy and Michael Waller helped keep the Commandos in the game until 5th when the Commandos rallied for 4 runs.  Gabe Dalton had a two-run single and Brett Coker drove in a run as well as Austin Mays to get HHS back in the game. 

Farragut added an insurance run in the top of the 6th to give the game its final score at 7-5.  The game was shortened due to a time limit for this tournament.  

With the win Farragut improved to 15-4 while Hendersonville drops to 14-3. 

Why Hendersonville’s Hayden Mullins committed to Auburn over Vanderbilt, Tennessee

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Hendersonville pitcher Hayden Mullins has committed to Auburn.(Photo: David Cardaciotto)

Hayden Mullins made one of the biggest decisions of his life before even beginning his junior year of high school at Hendersonville.

 

The Commando left-handed pitcher chose to verbally commit to Auburn in August, despite offers to play collegiate baseball for local schools such as the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

“I grew up a Tennessee fan, but Auburn was the first school that ever recruited me,” Mullins said. “During my campus visit everything clicked. The whole atmosphere: coach (Butch) Thompson had convinced me and I loved it.”

Two full years of academic and athletic eligibility remaining didn’t slow the 17-year-old from planning his future.

“I just knew it was time,” Mullins said. “I had offers coming in for quite a while and I knew my options were open. I ended up saying to myself, ‘why not commit now?”

Mullins gained the attention of college coaches after his sophomore campaign, when he went 5-1 with an 0.70 ERA, threw 83 strikeouts and was named to the first team All-County.

 

Hendersonville coach, Mike Hendrix says he knows what he’s getting on the mound from Mullins on a nightly basis.

“I think if you get him some experience and time with the pitching coaches (at Auburn) he will keep improving from year to year,” Hendrix said. “He’s matured from year to year at Hendersonville and if he keeps developing he’ll have a good college career.”

So far this season the southpaw has an 1.55 earned run average with 29 strikeouts over 18 innings pitched.

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Hendersonville's Hayden Mullins works against Station Camp on Tues. April 3, 2018. Photo by Dave Cardaciotto  (Photo: David Cardaciotto / For The Tennessean)

But Mullins isn’t worried about his numbers, in large part because the Commandos have failed to exit the 9-AAA tournament for the past the three seasons.

“Our goal is to make it to state,” Mullins said. “That’s about it. We don’t keep any statistical goals, we only care about making it to state.”

For now, with the district heavy part of the 2018 season ahead, Hendrix plans to get the most out of his left-hander.

“Hayden is a very good high school pitcher,” Hendrix said. “He’s got good velocity and movement on his ball. I’d say 90 percent or more hitters in our league are righties and so they struggle to hit him.”

Reach Andrew Preston at APreston@tennessean.com or 615-259-8015 and on Twitter @AndrewPreston33

The Commandos got the sesason series sweep of Station Camp with a 9-0 win on a cold Tuesday night at Station Camp.

Junior RHP Cameron Hansen was dominant on the mound.  Hansen limited the Bison to just two hits and struck out 11 in a complete-game effort while picking up his 4th win of the year.

The Commandos took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third when Harrison Williams got a two-out single to drive in Gabe Dalton who had walked.

HHS broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning, with the big blow coming off the bat of Hayden Layen as he hit a two-run double to left field.  Houston Peacock followed with a triple to the right-center gap.

Peacock led the way with three hits on the night for the Commandos, while Layne and Hayden Mullins added two hits a piece.

With the win HHS improves to 13-2 overall and 5-1 in District 9AAA.  The Commandos will next play this weekend as they host the PBR TN/KY Border Battle.