Starting pitcher Dylan Loy (14) and the Pigeon Forge Tigers faced the Nolensville Knights in a TSSAA Class AA winners bracket semifinal on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in Smyrna, Tennessee. Pigeon Forge won 4-0. (Photo by Danny Parker)
By JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — If you’re from East Tennessee and you hoped to see a Pigeon Forge vs. Gibbs championship game in this week’s Class AA state baseball tournament, you just may be in luck.
Both programs are just a step away from reaching Friday’s state final, which will be held at 1 p.m. Central time at Siegel High School.
And both Pigeon Forge and Gibbs will have to be beaten twice on Thursday to not make it.
Pigeon Forge knocked off Nolensville, 4-0, behind another masterful performance from sophomore lefty Dylan Loy while Gibbs belted out 13 hits in a 13-2 win over Covington.
Here’s more on each of the wins by the two District 3-AA rivals …
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PIGEON FORGE 4, Nolensville 0
Just a day after being named Mr. Baseball by the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association, Pigeon Forge sophomore Dylan Loy showed why.
Tossed into a duel Wednesday against Nolensville sophomore lefty and Vanderbilt commitment Ethan McElvain, Loy — a Tennessee commitment — struck out 10, walked just one and scattered five hits in seven innings of work.
He also helped his cause at the plate, driving in a run for Pigeon Forge (32-7) during the third inning to bump the lead to 3-0 at that point.
“He hits in the 3-hole. People don’t understand; that kid’s almost a .400 hitter as a sophomore who played one game of high school baseball last year (before the Covid shutdown),” said Pigeon Forge coach Mike Guinn.
“He barrels the baseball. He has just four strikeouts this year. … There’s no moment too big for him.”
Meanwhile, McElvain didn’t have his best, and Pigeon Forge made him pay. The Mr. Baseball finalist pitched a complete game but allowed two earned runs, three walks, five hits and struck out eight.
McElvain walked two batters in the second inning and then an error by an infielder led to two Pigeon Forge runs.
And then Loy and Riley Franklin came through with RBI singles in the third.
Nolensville (25-11) put two runners on in both the sixth and the seventh innings.
Loy never flinched. He trusted his defense behind him, and they produced the clinching outs — including a diving catch in center by Logan Johnson.
“It was great competition (today),” said Loy. “I knew I had to come out and bring it every pitch.”
The Tigers will face either Nolensville or Ripley in Thursday’s semifinal at 2 p.m. Central time at Smyrna High. If Pigeon Forge loses that 2 p.m. game, they’ll face the same team against shortly after for the right to move on to the state championship game.
Loy threw 109 pitches in the win over Nolensville, so don’t expect to see him the rest of the way.
“Everybody would like to go into the final two days and have a Dylan Loy to throw, but you have to get there (first),” said Guinn. “And, we feel we have others guys who can win those ballgames.
“And we’re willing to put it in their hands. We have some really good arms who have beaten some credible teams this year. And, we feel great with who we have left and coming back.”
GIBBS 13, Covington 2
After playing some small ball Tuesday to kick off their Class AA state tournament week with a win, the Eagles came back on Wednesday and unleashed their bats.
The Eagles (30-7) pounded 13 hits in a 13-2 win over Covington, spearheaded by Carson Raby’s 3-for-5 day that featured a grand slam and six RBIs.
The offensive eruption happened in the latter innings. Gibbs and Covington (25-14) were locked in a 1-all game game heading into the fifth inning, but Gibbs’ Dawson Warwick and Braden Graves recorded RBI-singles to break the game open.
Raby belted his grand slam in the sixth with one out to bump the advantage to 7-2. He singled in two more in the seventh.
“Carson is like a 1.8 (second pop time) to second (base). He’s a foundation to our defense. He’s solid behind the plate. Receives well. He’s caught every single inning for us since we started in March,” said Gibbs coach Geff Davis.
“Carson’s also been our 4-hole hitter all year, too. He’s hit, like, three grand slams this year. He’s a clutch performer.”
The wheels completely came off for Covington in the final inning. In addition to Raby’s two-run single, Tyson Merritt and Mason Bell drove in a run apiece. And Bryson Shown hit a two-run double.
“We put 10 runs on the board over two innings. We haven’t done that in a while,” said Davis. “But hitting is contagious. We got a couple guys hitting there, and it took off like wildfire. I don’t think we’ve scored over 10 in probably about three weeks.
“We were hitting it well before that. But when you get in district tournaments and region tournaments, things tighten up a big. It was neat to see so many guys put good contact on (today). That was good to see.”
The Eagles will face either Covington or Greenbrier in Thursday’s semifinal at 2 p.m. Central time at Blackman High.
If Gibbs loses that 2 p.m. game, they’ll face the same team against shortly after for the right to move on to the state championship game.
Regardless of what happens Thursday, for Gibbs to make this run to the semifinals and possibly beyond is remarkable, given there was no real season to build off of in 2020.
“We knew we had a good group coming back,” said Davis. “I’m not going to say ‘we expected to be here and all that,’ but we had the kind of team where we thought we had a shot to make some noise.”