Cy Stephens (22) and the Oak Ridge Wildcats defeated the Green Hill Hawks in a TSSAA Class 4A state tournament game on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Oak Ridge won 8-4. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — Thursday turned out to be Cy Stephens’ birthday, but the Oak Ridge hurler wound up being the one giving a gift.
With the Wildcats facing Green Hill in a Class 4A state tournament elimination game at Oakland High School, Stephens authored a gritty performance from the mound that shouldn’t be judged by its stat line alone.
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The 5-foot-10, 200-pound lefty dug deep for six innings of Oak Ridge’s 8-4 victory in the second of the Wildcats’ two must-win games Thursday. And while it won’t be considered a pitching gem, Stephens’ day consisted of him successfully mitigating potential disastrous innings.
With Oak Ridge (36-8) needing to preserve as much as its pitching reservoir as possible for Friday’s gauntlet — and maybe a state championship game on Saturday — Stephens endured arduous moments and patiently worked out of as many jams as his arm would allow.
He finished with 110 pitches thrown, striking out seven and walking one.
Kam Welch threw 119 pitches in Oak Ridge’s 6-1 win over Blackman to start the day.
“We had two gut-it-out performances today,” Oak Ridge coach Travis Free said. “Right now, people are going to have to step up and gut out things to give us a chance to win it.
“So far we’ve done it. We’ve been able to score enough runs to keep us moving. Made it to the final four — for the first time in ever, probably.”
Facts.
This Oak Ridge baseball team has advanced farther than any of its predecessors.
Stephens cruised through the first three innings Thursday night. When Green Hill loaded the bases in the fourth, Stephens limited the threat to one run produced. He struck out two consecutive batters to end the inning, preserving Oak Ridge’s 2-1 lead.
Oak Ridge built a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning on the strength of Mikee Teasley’s two-run homer. Green Hill responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth.
But even after a lengthy stay on the mound during Green Hill’s spurt, Stephens didn’t wilt. He bounced back and stranded two Green Hill runners to end the sixth with Oak Ridge leading 8-3.
Tryce Sharp and Carson Feagan finished out the seventh for Oak Ridge.
Coach Free and the Oak Ridge players gave Stephens his birthday adoration in the postgame huddle.
“He’s an unbelievable player,” Teasley said of Stephens. “He’s going to do big things at Walters State, and he’s done big things here. That’s the player he is. And I think he’s ready for any moment he’s put in.”
OAK RIDGE’S OFFENSE
Teasley went 2 for 3 with three RBIs in the win. He got Oak Ridge started in the first with an RBI double.
His bomb in the fifth rode an airstream directed straight out to right-center.
“I was looking to go backside with the baseball,” Teasley said. “I knew that (the wind) was flying that way.
“I mean, I knew what (the Green Hill pitcher) was doing. He was trying to beat me with a change-up away. I just sat on that pitch and drove it that way.”
Parker Free also went deep. He smacked a three-run homer in the top of the sixth and went 2 for 3 with three RBIs.
Freshman infielder Whit Renegar had a 2-for-3 day batting ninth in Oak Ridge’s lineup.
WHAT’S NEXT
Oak Ridge will face Clarksville (37-7) at 2 p.m. Central on Friday at Oakland High School.
The Wildcats will have to beat Clarksville twice to advance to Saturday’s 11 a.m. championship game.
Clarksville edged Oak Ridge 5-4 in the opening round on Wednesday.