For the first time since 2007, Falcon baseball has punched their ticket to the Spring Fling. Though he left the Falcon program for some time, Coach Travis Tate was at the helm in their first state tournament appearance. He returned to Lincoln County in 2020. Now, the Falcons are headed back to the “Big Dance” with an overall record of 31-9.
They are scheduled to take on Greenbrier on Tuesday of this week at 4 p.m. The game will be played at Smryna High School.
After finishing as runner-up in the district and region tournaments, the Falcons road went through Lenior City in a best-of-three series in the sectionals. The Falcons won the first game 9-3 and the second game 6-4.
The depth on the mound has been a major factor in their success, combined with a couple of timely hits. Zach Hernandez, Will Harwell, Ben Davis, Carter Bankston, Sam Smith, and Dylan Mann are all capable of toeing the rubber. Smith, Mann, Bankston, Davis, Hernandez and Harwell all worked in the sectionals.
In the second game of the series, it was tied at 3-3 in the middle of the fifth inning. The Falcons got the go-ahead run with one out when Bryce Percell singled to the outfield that scored Brett Dobbs who had reached on a walk.
But the Panthers knotted it at 4-4 in the top of the sixth. In the bottom half of the inning with two outs and Harwell and Bankston on the bags, Maddox Meek ripped a line drive to center field that plated the two go-ahead runs.
In the top of the seventh, Davis closed the game by striking out two batters. The game ended on a fly ball to right fielder Hernandez. The Falcons had the win 6-4.
The 9-3 first-game win was much closer than the score indicates. At the end of six Lincoln County was up 4-3. In the top of the seventh, Lenior City’s pitching came unraveled walking in four runs. The Falcons tacked on the fifth score of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Ian Weaver who scored Rhett Persell putting the Falcons up 9-3.
In the bottom of the seventh and with Will Harwell on the mound, the Falcons went 3 up and 3 down to finish with the win.
Getting there
Lincoln County baseball started off the TSSAA Regionals with a loss to the Upperman Bees, 8-0. That put the Falcons in the losers’ bracket in the double elimination tournament.
With their backs against the wall, Lincoln County squared off with district rival the Tullahoma Wildcats. The Falcons responded with a decisive 8-3 win to stay alive and end Tullahoma’s season.
Livingston Academy was up next for the Falcons. Lincoln County relied on their pitching and strong defense in defeating Livingston 2-0 to advance to the Sectionals, which meant winning a best two out of three series before advancing to the state tournament.
