LEBANON—The defending State Baseball Champions’ start in 2024 is a little deceptive. To begin the week, they had a 5-5 overall record. However, they lost two games to Class 3 Abingdon, two games to 3A Tennessee High, and a game to 4A Daniel Boone.
Richlands came to Doc Adams Field on Tuesday riding high with three Southwest District wins and no district losses. The Pioneers blew away the Blue Tornado in a 14-3 rout.
“We showed up and played good baseball today,” Lebanon coach Cody Compton said. “We came out and were focused in pregame and before the game hitting. We had a great approach at the plate, stayed within ourselves, and did exactly what we needed to do.”
Ten batters came to the plate in the first inning for Lebanon. They scored six runs, including homers by Chance Parker and the first career home run from Jake Hilton and a triple from Noah Delp.
“We felt like we were ready to go,” Richlands coach Ben Brown said. “We came in with good energy, and they got us right away. Parker smoked that ball to the left, and it kind of shocked us. It’s the first time (pitcher) Ben Hale has been hit like that this year. They had a tight zone, didn’t get anything off the plate, and I think we got a little flustered. They put up a six-spot, it was frustrating.”
Pioneer ace Nathan Phillips struck out the first six batters he faced.
“That’s exactly what we expect out of Tater (Phillips), remarked Compton. “He was fired up and ready to go. He threw the ball well today. He got it up a little in the third inning, but the ball was flying out of here.”
Phillips hit a single in the second inning. Courtesy runner Booker Steffey scored when Austin Warren drew a bases-loaded walk for a 7-0 advantage.
Richlands (8-3, 3-1 SWD) found their offense in the third. Max Herndon singled up the middle, and Caleb Ratliff launched a two-run homer. With two outs, C.J. Early hit a solo shot as the Blue Tornado pulled within 7-3.
“We responded well and made it a game,” Brown said. “But Lebanon hit the ball well, they stroked it, found the gaps, and launched three out of here. It’s hard to beat a team when they’re swinging like that. There wasn’t an easy out in their lineup tonight, they all battled and fouled off some good pitches.”
Lebanon (6-5, 2-0 SWD) again played long ball in the third. After striking out his first two appearances, Eli Breeding hammered a two-run clout over the left field fence.
“I just had to flush those first two at-bats,” Breeding said. “Baseball’s a game of failure, I just had to move on. The ball was hopping.”
A King University signee, Hale took the loss on the bump for Richlands. He was pulled after two innings. He had five strikeouts but allowed six hits, four walks, and hit one batter.
“Hale is an amazing player,” stated Breeding. “Props to him, I’ve played baseball with him before. Our coaches did a very good job of preparing us for this game.”
The Pioneers plated five more runs in the fourth on four hits. Dagan Barton’s two-run triple was the clutch hit. Phillips settled down and retired the final seven batters he faced to end the game with the mercy rule early.
Lebanon finished with 12 hits. Breeding, Parker, and Barton, the top three in the order, had six of those, but the rest of the lineup contributed.
There are a lot of baseball games remaining, but it was an important SWD win for the Pioneers.
“Richlands has a good ball team,” Compton said. “But we finally played to our ability. I’ve wanted us to play like this for a while, but we finally put it all together. Hitting, defense, pitching, it all came together tonight.”