The Lakeway Lions took on the St. George’s Gryphons in the TSSAA Division II-A state tournament on Joe Baron Field on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Lakeway won 5-4 in eight innings. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — When the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association put out its statewide rankings April 27, prior to the start of the postseason, the Lakeway Baseball team was nowhere to found on the list of 10 in the Division II-A poll.
Best believe the Lions will be seen when the final rankings come out, though.
Garza Law is the proud sponsor of 5Star Preps’ 2026 TSSAA Spring Fling state championship coverage May 19-22 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
In their first-ever trip to a state tournament, Lakeway Christian secured a spot in Thursday’s Division II-A championship game thanks a dramatic 5-4, walk-off win in the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday night over St. George’s.
Sophomore standout Chase Gockenback delivered the two-out knockout punch, as his single drove home Diego Pinilla.
“I was just waiting for a pitch I could hit good It felt amazing,” said Gockenbach, who had missed a good bit of time down the stretch. “God healed me from the injury in time to deliver in a big spot for the boys.”
Gockenbach logged a 1-for-3 day but also pitched the eighth inning in relief, getting two strikeouts, a walk and no hits to get the win.
Lakeway will play either St. George’s or Webb Bell Buckle in the noon finale Thursday at MTSU.
Lakeway must be beaten twice to not win state.
Lakeway (27-14) almost didn’t make it state.
The Lions dropped the opening game of its state quarterfinal series with Evangelical Christian School on Wednesday, May 13. But they bounced back with a win that same night to even the series. Lakeway closed out ECS in style, 12-1, on May 14 to make the Final Four.
On Tuesday this week, Lakeway opened with a 3-1 win over Franklin Grace Christian.
But on Wednesday, Lakeway trailed 4-1 going into their final at-bat. That’s when the Lions finally got to St. George’s starter Xander Kollias. After making the score 4-3 on a fielder’s choice and a passed ball, Lakeway got a two-out, RBI-single to center by Hudson Ford to knot the score at 4-all.
Ford finished the day 2-for-4 while Luke Burnett led Lakeway with a 3-for-3 performance with two walks.