In 1987, I covered my first state championship, as has been mentioned. Back in those days, the state baseball tournament was a four-team affair and double-elimination all the way through. I was covering Dresden in those days and they had qualified for the state tournament along with McKenzie, Upperman and Johnson City University High.
Dresden had two ace pitchers, Ronald Jones and Albert Winn. Most people remember the duo as “Popeye” Jones and “Peanut” Winn. Peanut got the start against Upperman and the Lions won 3-0. Dresden had to play McKenzie next and Popeye turned away a stellar effort by McKenzie pitcher Jason Baucom for a 6-2 win. Baucom struck out 14 Dresden batters that day, but was saddled with the hardluck loss.
Dresden coach Jeff Kelley was faced with a dilemma, so it seemed, about who to pitch against Johnson City. I was in the pressbox at Herschel Greer Stadium in Nashville for a pre-game radio interview. Paul Tinkle, who did the play-by-play that afternoon with color man Wayne McCreight, and was asked who would get the ball for the championship game. I had to admit, I didn’t know. I knew Dresden had three pitchers it could throw, but none of the three had thrown in over a month. After shrugging my shoulders on the air, I went down to the field to check the line-up card and saw penciled in the pitcher’s slot David Jones, older brother of Popeye and the third pitcher in the rotation. But he hadn’t pitched in a month or more.
It worked out for Dresden. Jones pitched pretty well for 6 1/3 innings, then Peanut came in to close the door for the final two outs and Dresden had won the state title. Winn was a fireballer, much like Drew Hayes and the No. 1 hurler for the Lions. Kelley rolled the dice, went with the senior and the Lions had claimed their first state title in school history.
Fast-forward 19 years, McKenzie was faced with a similar situation. The Rebels weren’t in a championship game nor were they in an elimination contest, but MHS coach Jeremy Maddox had a decision to make. Drew Hayes pitched six innings on Tuesday and two-thirds on Wednesday. That mean he was available for 3 1/3 innings on Thursday and not at all on Friday, in a potential state championship game, according to TSSAA rules. If Hayes didn’t pitch on Thursday, he was available for 10 innings on Friday. Having pitched six innings on Wednesday, Beau Brown was out of the question. That left it up to
Jonathan Wheat and Glenn “Bugs” Smith. Neither of them had pitched in a month. Maddox spent a lot of Wednesday night pondering this. The unspoken idea was that it might be a committee thing. Wheat may pitch two or three innings, then Bugs, then there was a thought about some others. Kerry Mallard, who was doing the game for the Tennessee Sports Radio Network that day, told me he wasn’t feeling well and asked that if he needed a breather, would I come in and broadcast the game. I agreed. Knowing this tidbit, I found my dear friend and potential color commentator Larry Joe Smith just to talk about the game and get a feel for where his thoughts were. Those type of pre-game chats help a broadcast.
Smith and I discussed the pitching options. We talked about Bugs, Wheat, even Parker Jones and Clint Kee, both of whom started as freshmen, as well as spot reliever Justin Wilson. Larry Joe even suggested he wouldn’t be afraid to use sophomore Derek Carr, though he hadn’t played much this season. If the Rebels survived this encounter with Summertown, they needed Hayes to pitch against the hot-hitting Forrest Rockets, who had set several batting records at the state tournament. After the win over Summertown on Wednesday, Maddox told Bugs and Wheat that night to prepare mentally for an opportunity to pitch. Both of them could potentially see action. That kind of news from the coach might have kept me tossing and turning that night.
After lunch on Thursday, Maddox made up his mind and went to the youngster who would get the call. Maddox went with the senior. He told Jonathan Wheat that the ball was in his hands for a chance to play for a state title on Friday.
Wheat sort of knew he might have to work a few innings at some point, but it was an abstract thought…until Maddox told him to get ready.
"I didn't think about it much until coach told me and Bugs to get ready," Wheat said. "I found out at lunch time and it was a scary thought."
It was game time. Wheat took the ball and appeared calm, cool and collected. But his outside appearances didn't match the insides. His warm-up tosses looked pretty good. Things got a bit better when he struck out leadoff hitter Chris Carrington, then got Cole Lang to ground out. Jon Ivie popped out to right field and that was that for Summertown. Wheat got through the first inning unscathed and looked comfortable doing so. Looks can be deceiving.
"I was nervous as I could be," he said with a disbelieving smile. "I faced three batters and then I calmed down after one or two innings." The Rebels did much in their first plate appearance to help Wheat relax even more. Drew Brown continued his hot streak and led off with a single. Drew Hayes reached on an error with one out then Wheat grounded out but drove in a run to give himself a lead to pitch with. The Rebs led 1-0 going into the second frame.
Summertown evened things up with a run in the second. Wheat struck out shortstop Carson Brewer, but left fielder Carmeron Bradburn tripled. Logan Harville, the DH, singled him home to tie the game. That’s when McKenzie’s defense came to the rescue. Clint Gobbell hit into a textbook 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
That was the first of two double plays that buoyed the Rebels on the day. And as the defense solidified behind Wheat, the more confidence he gathered.
McKenzie got off to a good start. Wheat retired Summertown in order and the Rebels came to bat and dented the scoreboard. Drew Brown rocketed a triple to start Mckenzie's half, then Wheat scored him on a sacrifice.
Summertown reacted with a run of its own in the second, but the Rebels tacked on two more in the second. Brice Priestley singled and stole second. Then with two outs, Laughrey drove him home with a single. Drew Brown walked and Beau Brown scored Laughrey when he singled. In the third, with two outs, again, Wilson reached on an error and scored on Priestley's double.
The Rebels put Wheat at ease for good when they scored seven runs in the fourth inning, essentially icing the game and penciling themselves in for an invitation to the state title game.
MHS exploded on four big hits, starting with a single from senior John Kermit Laughrey. Drew Brown continued his torrid pace with a single. With one out and runners on first and second, Drew Hayes was intentionally passed to load 'em up for Wheat. Wheat reached on a fielder's choice when Summertown pegged Laughrey with a force at the plate. But most of the Rebels' damage came with two outs. Bugs Smith ripped an RBI single. Justin Wilson was next and laced a line drive to centerfield that went in and out of Summertown's Cameron Bradburn's glove. That scored two runs. Brice Priestley drilled an RBI single to center, then Marshall Smith came to the plate and reached on an error, scoring another run. Laughrey, on his second appearance of the inning, cranked another run-scoring double. The dust settled and McKenzie was up 11-1.
In the Summertown fifth, Chris Carrington blasted a solo shot to close the gap to nine, 11-2. In that same frame, however, one of the most interesting double plays occured. Beau Brown made a diving stab for a dying quail fly ball with runners on first and second. He presented the ball to the umpire, who determined that Brown had indeed scooped it, not caught it. He instinctively fired ahead of the runners to Parker Jones at third for the first out, then Jones wheeled to Wilson at second for the second out. After much discussion, the umpires sorted it all out an the dual downing stood up, ending a threat.
McKenzie rallied for a run in the sixth to end the game. Bugs Smith singled, Wilson walked and then Priestley cranked a base hit to right center that drove in Bugs for the game winner. And now, McKenzie would prepare a place in the trophy case for another piece of hardware, this one from the Class A state baseball championship.
There were many game balls to go around, but a big one went to starting pitcher Wheat, who worked all six innings, striking out nine, scattering six hits, walking three. He hadn't pitched in almost a month and MHS coach Jeremy Maddox paid off handsomely.
"I can't say enough about Wheat's effort," said Maddox. "I can't remember the last time he was on (the hill), but he wanted the ball and I told him to take it and run."
"We were thinking that if Wheat could give us four (innings) that would be good," said senior Drew Hayes. "But he didn't want to go just four, he wanted more. He pitched well and pitched with a lead. Yeah, he gave up the home run, but oh well...he was pitching with a lead and could pitch more over the plate."
"I can look up and down the lineup and I saw a lot of good things today, but one thing stands out and that's Wheat," Maddox said. "When you get to this point in the season and things are going good, you still look for that one person to step up and it was Wheat today. He pitched fantastic."
There were a lot of game balls to go around. The Rebel bats were hot, the defense was solid and Wheat stepped up and was a leader when the team needed him most. Wheat shouldn't have been too worried, though. The night before the game, Hayes and some teammates were playing cards and Coach Maddox came into the room. Hayes asked Maddox to pick a card from the deck. It was a 10, suit unspecified.
"That's how many runs we're going to win by," Hayes said.
Final score: McKenzie 12, Summertown 2.
Still Wheat was glad it was over. When the Rebels crossed that game-ender, Wheat breathed a sigh of relief.
"It was breathtaking," he said. "We know where we are headed now. I just can't put it into words."
In fewer than 24 hours, the Rebels would be playing Forrest for the Class A state baseball championship. This mission-oriented team was 21 outs away from a gold trophy, but the Rebels were about to face a record-setting team that had won 23 games in a row and its undefeated ace on the hill in Mikie Minor.
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