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BY DEAN FOX
MURFREESBORO – After playing two nail-biters, the Farragut baseball team slugged its way Friday to getting a shot at history.
Farragut exploded for nine runs across the third and fourth innings and rode the arm of starter Connell Driver to a 9-5 win over Independence, securing a spot in Saturday morning’s Class 4A state baseball championship.
The Admirals (31-11) will face Clarksville for the title. Clarksville (38-7) edged Oak Ridge in 10 innings.
“Our guys do a good job – they’ve played with a lot of freedom during this postseason run,” coach Garrett Copeland said. “It seems like they don’t play with a lot of pressure.
“They just come out and compete.”
Lipscomb commit Aidan Flagg delivered the biggest blow in Farragut’s decisive third inning, launching a three-run home run to cap a five-run frame that erased a 1-0 deficit and gave the Admirals a lead they never relinquished.
Flagg finished with four RBIs, while Owen Stelzer and Zain Kureshi-Smith each added two hits and an RBI to power Farragut’s 12-hit attack.
Independence opened the scoring in the first on an RBI single from Cross Lawhun, but struggled to contain the Admirals’ offense in the middle innings. After giving up a leadoff single in the third, Independence reliever Aiden Rosenbrock surrendered five hits in a span of six batters, including Flagg’s blast to left that made it 5-1.
Farragut tacked on four more runs in the fourth, highlighted by RBI singles from Kureshi-Smith and Stelzer. The outburst came after Independence walked the first two batters of the inning. Farragut worked seven walks overall and executed timely situational hitting to stretch its lead to 9-3.
“I was just trying to stay relaxed and not do too much, like coach said,” Flagg said. “Just try to use the middle of the field and put the on it.”
Caleb King delivered a two-run single in the fifth for Independence, but the Eagles couldn’t mount a late comeback against Farragut’s bullpen.
Driver (1-0) allowed five earned runs on nine hits across five innings but struck out four and stranded five runners.
Brodie Roberts tossed two scoreless frames to close it out, fanning three.
“We left some opportunities out there early with some things we could have done better,” Copeland said, “but all in all, we got a good pitching performance from Connell Driver, and Aidan Flagg broke it open with his home run. Brodie Roberts came in there late and kind of shut them down. When you good defense and have good situational hitting, it’s always a recipe for success.”
Now, it’s time for Farragut to play for another crown.
The Admirals have won their last 15 state tournament games.
“I think there will be some nervousness,” Flagg said, “but we’re ready.”