River Boys are runners-up
Coal Creek, River Boys meet in ETBD Tournament championship
Brent Schaffer gets a double against the Townsend Mountaineers during the ETBD postseason tournament in North Knoxville. (photo:Tony Cox )
The team played for the tournament championship Sunday at Christenberry Elementary School, losing to crosstown rival Coal Creek 5-2 on a sultry afternoon in North Knoxville.
The River Boys (8-14-1) took an early 2-0 lead on a two-run single by Brennan Tipton in the top of the first inning, but the lead didn’t last long.
The Bulls tied the game in the bottom of the opening frame on a two-run single by Blake Lowe.
After allowing two first-inning runs, Coal Creek pitcher Hayden Ault settled in on the mound and kept the River Boys off the scoreboard for six innings.
He allowed two runs, eight hits and three walks in seven innings. He finished the contest with five strikeouts.
Lowe went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Easton Beaty was 2-for-3 with a triple, a run and a stolen base.
For the River Boys, JP Robbins was 1-for-3 with a run scored, while Jackson Webb went 1-for-2 with a run scored, Tipton went 1-for-3, driving in both runs for the team.
The River Boys advanced to the championship game with a 16-2 victory over the top-seeded Townsend Mountaineers.
With the victory, the River Boys avenged a heartbreaking walk-off loss to the Mountaineers on Friday night.
In Saturday’s game, Matt Denton had five RBIs as he went 1-for-4 with a triple, while Alex Duggins had two hits and two RBIs. He also scored two runs. Jaxon Young went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Robbins, the River Boys’ leadoff hitter, doubled and scored.
On the mound, Will Brooks tossed a six-inning complete game. He gave up two runs and five hits, while striking out 10 Townsend hitters. He also went 1-for-3 at the plate and knocked in a run for the River Boys, who had a pair of big innings, scoring five in the third inning and seven in the sixth.
The win avenged a 7-6 loss to the Mountaineers on Friday night.
In Friday night’s game, Robbins had a three-run double and scored a run, while Denton had two doubles and scored two runs. Schaffer singled and scored.
The River Boys opened tournament play Friday afternoon with a 15-6 win over the host Broadway Hawks.
Dallas Beets had a big afternoon at the plate as he went 3-for-3 with seven RBIs, three runs scored.
Brooks, Brent Schaffer and Young each had two hits and drove in two runs for the River Boys. Young and Shaffer each doubled. Schaffer scored three runs and Brooks scored two in the team’s final game of the summer.
Four of the league’s six teams will be in the summer World Series, but River Boys’ coach Rob Stacy is giving his team some time off until school resumes.
“This is a group that has baseball savvy,” Stacy said. “We’re not playing in the World Series because of giving them some time off.
“When we come back on Sept. 2, I’m going to hammer these guys. This will be the hardest fall that we’ve had, but I think these guys are ready for it. This group is like me. They think about baseball all the time. They have favorite teams and they play MLB The Show.”