’Cats have ‘historic’ game at Powell
Pickens pitches Oak Ridge past Panthers to hand PHS first district loss since 2018
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Oak Ridge High School senior Tyler Pickens (2) gets mobbed on the mound by his teammates after he pitched a complete-game seven-inning shutout against Powell High School Monday night. - Ken Leinart
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Oak Ridge’s Mikee Teasley starts the swing that will give Oak Ridge an insurance run and a 3-0 lead against Powell High School Monday night. - Ken Leinart
Tyler Pickens was the recipient of a Gatorade shower after Oak Ridge High School’s baseball team picked up its biggest win in recent memory.
Pickens, a senior pitcher for the Wildcats, didn’t seem to mind getting a little wet after he hurled a five-hit shutout in Oak Ridge’s 5-0 victory over host Powell at Danny T. Maples Field.
“This was really good,” said Pickens, who tossed a complete game against the Panthers (9-2 overall, 4-1 in District 3-4A), yielding five hits and one walk. “I just came out with the mindset that I was going to kick butt, and that’s what I did.”
Pickens, a transfer from Hardin Valley Academy, hit a batter, but pitched his way out of a pair of jams as he gave up a pair of hits in the sixth and yielded a pair of back-to-back two-out walks in the second.
He finished the contest with nine strikeouts. He fanned Powell catcher Austin Meadows to record the final out of the contest.
“I just trusted my defense when I got into trouble,” Pickens said.
It was a big win for Oak Ridge (8-4, 4-1), but it was also a historic loss for the Panthers, their first league loss since 2018. It was also Josh Warner’s first district loss as Powell’s coach. It snapped Powell’s 55-game district winning streak.
Powell and the Wildcats were embroiled in a scoreless tie until Oak Ridge broke through with a pair of runs in the top of the of the fourth inning as sophomore catcher Khyren Welch had an RBI single and Jason Slay drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. It was a Powell error that started that rally.
Oak Ridge extended its lead to 5-0 with three unearned runs with two outs in the seventh.
After Panthers’ pitcher RJ Broome retired pinch hitter Alex Franklin and Slay to open the frame, Riley Rehill reached on an error to open the floodgates. Warner opted to intentionally walk Caden Black before Mikee Teasley came up with an RBI single to make it 3-0 before Pickens helped himself out at the plate with a two-run single.
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for ORHS, which lost 1-0 to Pigeon Forge Thursday and dropped an 11-0 decision at Maryville Friday night.
