Daniel Boone pitcher Brayden Blankenship throws a pitch for a strike in the first inning of Friday's District 1-4A tournament game against Dobyns-Bennett.
Brayden Blankenship is congratulated by Daniel Boone coach Scott Hagy after his RBI triple in the first inning of Friday's game against Dobyns-Bennett.
Dobyns-Bennett's Will Ritz is congratulated by catcher Taylor Blankenship after scoring in the third inning of Friday's District 1-4A tournament game against Daniel Boone.
Daniel Boone’s Brayden Blankenship (16) goes airborne while celebrating his walk-off hit against Dobyns-Bennett with teammates.
J.D. VAUGHN/SIX RIVERS MEDIA
Daniel Boone’s Brayden Blankenship (16) goes airborne while celebrating his walk-off hit against Dobyns-Bennett with teammates.
J.D. VAUGHN/SIX RIVERS MEDIA
Daniel Boone players celebrate at second base after their walk-off win over Dobyns-Bennett Friday night.
J.D. VAUGHN/SIX RIVERS MEDIA
Daniel Boone’s Ben Stevens (19) heads home for the winning run while his teammates and coaches celebrate Friday night against Dobyns-Bennett.
JEFF BIRCHFIELD/SIX RIVERS MEDIA
Daniel Boone pitcher Brayden Blankenship throws a pitch for a strike in the first inning of Friday's District 1-4A tournament game against Dobyns-Bennett.
JEFF BIRCHFIELD/SIX RIVERS MEDIA
Dobyns-Bennett's Andrew Reilly comes in to score the Indians' first run in the first inning of Friday's game against Daniel Boone.
JEFF BIRCHFIELD/SIX RIVERS MEDIA
Dobyns-Bennett starting pitcher Ean Mays gets ready to throw a pitch in the first inning of Friday's game against Daniel Boone.
JEFF BIRCHFIELD/SIX RIVERS MEDIA
Daniel Boone's Tim McGonigle cheers as teammate Jackson McCurry crosses home plate after they scored on a two-run single by Braden Gore.
JEFF BIRCHFIELD/SIX RIVERS MEDIA
Brayden Blankenship is congratulated by Daniel Boone coach Scott Hagy after his RBI triple in the first inning of Friday's game against Dobyns-Bennett.
JEFF BIRCHFIELD/SIX RIVERS MEDIA
Dobyns-Bennett's Will Ritz is congratulated by catcher Taylor Blankenship after scoring in the third inning of Friday's District 1-4A tournament game against Daniel Boone.
Brayden Blankenship came through with the biggest hit of his high school career to keep Daniel Boone’s season alive Friday night at TVA Credit Union Ballpark.
Down to the final strike and his team trailing by a run, Blankenship hit a walk-off, two-run double to lift the Trailblazers to a 9-8 victory over Dobyns-Bennett in nine innings in a District 1-4A baseball tournament elimination game.
“I struck out the last two at-bats and I didn’t have much confidence going up there,” Blankenship said. “Our stands picked me up and gave me the confidence. I couldn’t do it without the people in the stands and dugout. This can’t be any more special. This is amazing.”
Daniel Boone (20-7) advanced to face Science Hill in a championship game on Saturday at 11 a.m. with a game to follow Sunday if Boone wins. The Trailblazers also clinched a spot in the Region 1 tournament for a third straight year.
Dobyns-Bennett ended its season 24-8 with the heartbreaking loss.
“I tip my hat to those guys and I don’t want to be cliché, but that was a heck of a high school game,” Daniel Boone coach Scott Hagy said. “We had our signing day earlier today where Brayden signed with Walters State. The one thing I said about him when he goes out there whether it’s football, basketball or baseball, he competes and he wants to win. You saw that tonight.”
Blankenship also was the Trailblazers’ starting pitcher, but gave way to Braydon Norton after four innings. He moved to right field and remained a key figure in the lineup, going 2-for-4 and driving in three runs, including Chandler Justice and Ben Stevens for the winning scores.
Norton went five innings in what Hagy described as a phenomenal job against a great ball club. He gave up just one run, the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth, but emerged with the huge win.
A decision by Dobyns-Bennett coach Ryan Wagner to pull Cade Maynor after 54 pitches in Wednesday’s opening-round loss to Science Hill and have him available for Friday’s game gave the Indians a chance. Maynor relieved Ean Mays with the Indians trailing 5-1 in the first inning and gave up two hits and four walks over the next four innings.
It was a back-and-forth dogfight from that point on. After the Indians rallied to take a 7-5 lead, Boone scored two runs in the sixth inning to tie the game. Neither team could plate any runs in the seventh or eighth, leading to the dramatic finish.
Will Ritz had a RBI double to score Jaylen Thomas for the go-ahead run in the eighth. Tegan Begley suffered the tough loss despite a strong effort with six strikeouts over the final 3 2/3 innings and getting down to the final strike on the last two batters.
“We battled and gave ourselves a chance. They got the big hit and we couldn’t find that last out,” Wagner said. “We knew Blankenship would be tough, but we battled to the end. We just couldn’t hold them off. I’m so proud of our seniors, proud of our guys. They’re a good tough bunch of guys.”
That statement applied to both teams.
Jackson Bishop and Ritz each drove in two runs for the Indians. Cam Hayworth and Kasey Carter each had two hits, while Andrew Reilly scored two runs.
For the ‘Blazers, Justice drove in two runs and scored twice. Tim McGonigle had two hits and scored two runs, while Jackson McCurry came through with two hits.
“These guys never think they’re out of it,” Hagy said. “To go to the region the third year in a row, I’m proud of my guys and the program we have.”
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