Riley Franklin and the Pigeon Forge Tigers faced White House Heritage in the first round of the TSSAA Class 2A state tournament at Stewarts Creek High School on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Smyrna, Tennessee. Pigeon Forge won 8-6. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — They’re the past two Class 2A Mr. Baseball winners for a reason, and Dylan Loy and Riley Franklin proved that once again on Friday afternoon.
Loy, a junior at Pigeon Forge and the 2021 Mr. Baseball winner, went 2 for 5 Friday with a home run and two RBIs.
And Franklin went 2 for 3 with a home run, two RBIs and two walks. He was named the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association’s Mr. Baseball for 2022 on Tuesday morning.
All that added up and contributed to a 13-4 win by the Tigers in the Class 2A semifinals against White House Heritage.
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The victory sends Pigeon Forge (40-3) into the championship game for a second consecutive season. Last year, Gibbs defeated the Tigers and prevented Pigeon Forge from claiming its first title since the 2013 title run.
Their opponent this time: Watertown (28-9).
The game time: 1 p.m. Central.
The place: Blackman High School.
That’s a different locale than what the Tigers have used this week. They’ve played all their games at Stewarts Creek in the Smyrna area. And they showed their comfort level there Friday, plating two runs in the second, four in the third and five in the fourth to lay claim to an 11-1 lead and early momentum against White House Heritage.
Franklin hit his two-run homer in the third. Loy hit a solo shot in the fourth.
Trevan Myers and Tyson McFall drove in two runs apiece. Holt Hensley had a three-RBI day.
White House Heritage (21-12) used five pitchers in defeat.
Nick Shaw, a senior lefty, pieced together a complete-game effort on the mound for Pigeon Forge, allowing head coach Mike Guinn relief in knowing he didn’t have to burn anymore pitching.
Franklin (11-0, 0.64 ERA) is likely to shoulder most of the pitching load Saturday.
Catholic falls in Division II-AA semifinals
So close.
The Irish (26-14) were right there on the brink of making a state-championship game appearance.
They led Lipscomb 3-2 in the top of the sixth with a runner on third when inclement weather postponed their semifinal game Wednesday. They didn’t get to resume it until Friday morning.
When play picked back up, Lipscomb seized the opportunity. The Mustangs scored nine runs on six hits in the bottom of the sixth and eliminated Catholic, 11-3, from the Division II-AA tournament.
Nathan Breeden, a senior outfielder, was a bright spot in the game for Catholic with a 4-for-4 performance.
McCallie, though, wound up winning the Division II-AA championship. It defeated Lipscomb, 14-13, in the finale.
Powell Panthers’ season ends in 4A semifinals
Powell’s first state-tournament appearance since 1981 ends up with a state semifinal appearance.
The Panthers (29-7) beat Stewarts Creek, 8-4, in eight innings Friday morning to advance into the semifinals. But Powell had to beat Houston (38-8) twice Friday to reach Saturday’s 4A championship game.
And Houston won Game 1 by a 4-3 count, allowing just one hit. Despite the lack of production off the bats, Powell forced across two runs in the sixth off a bases-loaded walk by Connor Bryson and then a fielder’s choice RBI.
But Powell went quietly in the final inning.
Bryson went 4 for 5 in the early game Friday against Stewarts Creek, driving in five runs. He had a two-run single in the fifth inning that gave Powell a 4-3 lead. He had an RBI in the eighth when Powell scored four runs to pull away for good.
Coalfield looks to future after 1A run ends
The Yellow Jackets went 1-2 this week in Murfreesboro, falling Friday 7-5 in an elimination-round game to Bradford.
Coalfield (28-12) made its first state appearance in 13 years.
It returns its entire roster for another possible trip to Murfreesboro in 2023.
Cole Hines and Levi Heidel each logged two-hit days Friday in the loss.
Aiden Sexton, Zach Armstrong and Luke Treece had an RBI apiece.