SOUTHSIDE -- The Nashville Scrappers are headed back to Fayetteville in search of another state title.
In a wild Class 4A state baseball tournament semifinal Monday at Southside Batesville High School, the Scrappers fought off the Valley View Blazers 10-8 to advance to the championship game this weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Scrappers (28-6) will take aim at a third consecutive state title.
Nashville jumped on top when Tristen Jamison hit a three-run home run in the first inning.
The Blazers (27-6) put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first to take the lead. Jacob Waleszonia's three-run home run was the big blow.
Nashville pulled even in the top of the second when Aaron Lott walked with one out, stole second, reached third on a groundout and scored on a two-out single by Ty Gordon.
Neither team scored again until the top of the fourth inning when Nashville broke the 4-4 tie with three runs. Gordon's two-run home run provided the first time runs.
Valley View got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fourth. Cade Carr walked, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a two-out double by Wil French, cutting the gap to 7-5.
The Scrappers went up 9-6 in the top of the sixth on a solo home run by Jake Moorer.
The Blazers weren't done yet. Austin Shipman led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, then Conor Watson walked with one out. A wild pitch moved both runners up a base, and Sam Fagan drove in both with a double to left field that cut the gap to 9-8. The Blazers went for the tie when Waleszonia followed with a single to right, but Fagan was thrown out at home.
Nashville added an insurance run in the top of the seventh for a 10-8 lead.
Shiloh Christian 8, Pottsville 2
The Saints (24-5) jumped out early on the Apaches (15-7) and never trailed, advancing to the state title game.
Shiloh Christian scored four runs on three hits and an error in the bottom of the second, and went up 5-0 in the bottom of the third when Caleb Anderson led off with a single and later scored on a single by Sean Rhodes.
Pottsville got on the board in the top of the fourth when Rylee Hule hit a sole home run, but Shiloh Christian got that run back in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run by Drew Dudley.
The Apaches cut it to 6-2 in the top of the sixth, but the Saints got back-to-back solo home runs by Dudley and Walker Williams in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-2.
Shiloh Christian finished with 13 hits, three each by Dudley and Williams and two each by Marcus Brown, Anderson and Rhodes. Williams was also the winning pitcher.
Ben Jones had two of Pottsville's four hits.
Sports on 05/14/2019