B

SEVIERVILLE—Morristown West saw its baseball season end in heartbreaking fashion Friday night with a 5-3 loss to Jefferson County.

The Patriots jumped out to a 5-0 lead but had to hold off repeated rallies by the Trojans to move into the finals of the District 2-4A Tournament against regular season champion Sevier County.

More importantly, the victory gives the Patriots their fifth regional tournament berth in the last seven seasons. Coach Zach Reese’s club is now 18-13 for the season.

West wound up the year with a 15-17 worksheet and saw the careers of seniors Landyn Spencer, Bryson Jenkins and Tashawn Griffin come to an end as the game turned into one of just too many missed scoring opportunities.

The victory was even sweeter for the Patriots after West had beaten them 9-1 in their first tournament game earlier in the week. However, Jefferson County went into the losers bracket and posted a win over Morristown East to set up the second shot at the Trojans.

Beau Revord was the starter and winner for the Patriots but didn’t have his best night on the mound. However, a sparkling relief effort by Briley Larue saved the day for Jefferson County.

As he neared the pitch-count limit, Revord walked three straight batters with one out in the top of the sixth. With Trojan fans feeling their team was about to complete the comeback, Larue came on to pitch and got out of the inning without a run crossing the plate and then walked one and hit one in the seventh before getting the final out on a strike out to preserve the victory.

Coach Reese was really happy with the win. “I don’t think there’s any question that the rivalry is back in full force for these two teams. There’s been a lot of trash talking the last few days on both sides and this was a huge win our guys really wanted.

“Briley came in there and got the job done for us,” he said. “He got them out in the sixth when the bases were loaded and then got a little wobbly there in the seventh. But he hadn’t pitched much lately after that arm thing he had. We needed somebody behind Beau who could get the job done and he came in there and he did it. We’ve had guys who kind of folded in that position but not tonight.”

The coach said, “We didn’t have a lot of hits but we had some guys hit the ball hard. Some of the ones we hit the hardest were outs. But we had the sac-fly and the two runs Maddux (Rogers) knocked in on the infield hit were really big.

“We screwed up a couple of bunts trying to score more runs but in this type of game it’s not about how you do it…it’s about who wins the dang game and that’s all that matters. You win and you keep playing and you lose and the season’s over.”

He continued, “West is a talented team. There’s no doubt West is coming because of all the young kids they have. But there’s something about being in this situation before that really makes a difference. They could have won that game easily but our guys believe because that’s all we preach to them.

Reese talked about the importance of the win. “This is the game we point to. We don’t preach state championships, we say get to the region and see what happens. I think our kids really bought into that this season.”

West’s Justin Pickett said, “We had all kinds of chances but we couldn’t get that one big hit we needed so badly. We had early opportunities and in the sixth and seventh we were one pitch away from winning that game.

“But they found a way to kind of shut us down when it came down to it.”

Pickett went on to say, “Although we didn’t pull it out tonight, I’m really proud of this team for the things they’ve done. We had a lot more wins and we were in a lot of meaningful games. That’s a credit to the older guys and the younger guys as well.

“We’ve got a lot to look forward to but this loss was just hard because we had plans to keep playing. Anytime you end your season at this point, it stinks. But it’s a lesson you have to learn in life.

“The thing is, we’ve battled all year long just like we did tonight. We’ve never just given in and laid down.”

Pickett talked about his seniors. “I’m thankful to every one of them for what they’ve done for our program. I love each and every one of them and we’re going to miss them. They love the game of baseball and come out here and compete like crazy. They’re going to be successful in anything they do in life.”

Jefferson County grabbed the early lead when Landon Thomas and Ryan Smith both scored on Rogers’ infield hit deep into the hole at shortstop.

West got on the board in the top of the fourth when Seal doubled into the gap and scored when Jordan Watson reached on a fielder’s choice.

But, the Patriots added three in the fourth when Brody Carr, Thomas and Drew Potts all had hits and Rogers added a sacrifice fly. Two of the runs scored on wild pitches.

Gavin Mitchell got on on a fielder’s choice and scored on a wild pitch in the fifth and Jenkins was hit by a pitch and scored on a hit by Griffin.

The Trojans left runners on first and third in the inning, stranded the bases full in the sixth and left them on second and third in the seventh.

Thomas had a double and single as the Patriots wound up with seven hits. Potts added a pair of singles while Carr and Lawson had doubles.

Griffin was the only West player with two hits. Seal chipped in his double and walked twice while Mitchell, Jenkins and Cody Blair all had singles for the Trojans.

Revord left the mound with one out in the sixth. He gave up all six hits, walked five and struck out seven in getting the mound verdict over Jenkins.

Jenkins worked the first three innings and faced one batter in the fourth. Charlie Dewald finished the fourth and Spencer pitched the final two innings.