Silverdale Seahawks earn first state berth

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo Silverdale Baptist players congratulate pitcher Reid Clements (6) after winning their game against Trousdale County Friday at Silverdale Baptist Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The groundbreaking continued Friday at Silverdale Baptist Academy, and with it the Seahawks have successfully concluded their home season while embarking on new frontiers.

Silverdale locked up its first baseball state-tournament berth with a 6-0 victory over Trousdale County.

Asked how the Seahawks would prepare for Murfreesboro next week, coach Jonathan Adcock grinned and replied, "I don't know. I guess we'll continue to do what we've been doing.

"I told the guys we probably can't expect Reid [Clements] and Spencer [Mossburg] to shut everybody out and that we'd probably have tighter games, but I can't imagine facing teams much tougher than South Pittsburg or Boyd-Buchanan."

The Seahawks dropped Boyd-Buchanan into the District 5-A losers bracket, and the Buccaneers then were upset by Arts & Sciences. In winning SBA's first boys' district championship, the Seahawks cakewalked past CSAS and then ousted South Pittsburg from the Region 3-A race before securing their first region championship by beating Marion County.

On Friday they added their first sectional win and did so behind the ever-reliable Clements, who nailed down win No. 7 with a two-hit, nine-strikeout performance.

"Reid came ready to play," catcher Josh Bankston said. "All his pitches were on point. He was throwing great."

The visiting Yellow Jackets twice advanced a runner to third base, but Clements ended the fifth-inning threat with two strikeouts and squelched the sixth-inning scare with three infield pop-ups around a hit batsmen, stolen base and wild pitch. He ended the game on a high note with two seventh-inning strikeouts.

The game was all but decided, though, by the time Trousdale got its first baserunner on Garrett Crafton's double. The Seahawks were up 4-0 by then, allowing Clements to slip comfortably into a rocking chair.

Mossburg walked to begin Silverdale's first at-bat and stole second before advancing to third on Bankston's infield single. Josiah Green scored Mossburg with a sacrifice fly to right field, and Bankston came home on Matt Millard's single. Clements, who had walked, then scored on an error.

The Seahawks might have really broken the game open but Millard got nailed at home on a relay throw from left after Colton Rogers' single.

They added a run in the fourth on Green's single, Clements' double and another Trousdale error and went ahead 5-0 on Joey Szollosi's fifth-inning home run. Chance Brown scored the sixth run on a walk, two errors and Bankston's groundout to first.

"We never let down. We never wanted to give them a chance to come back," Bankston said.

The Seahawks know they will play their first game in the Spring Fling no earlier than 5 p.m. Tuesday at Blackman High School or Middle Tennessee Christian.

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765.