Harriman Crushes Wartburg 19-4 for Region 2-A Championship
By Terry Futrell
Ouch! No single word can better describe the Harriman Blue Devils’ crushing 19-4 defeat of the Wartburg Central Bulldogs in the Region 2-A title game Wednesday evening. As light is to dark, as sharp is to dull, this rematch of the District 3-A title game proved to be the opposite of the first. Whereas Harriman went down in flames in the district title match, Wartburg was the team that failed to show up in tonight’s game. The result was Wartburg’s worst loss of the 2019 season.
A key factor in the Harriman victory was the accuracy of pitcher Marcus Nelson, who struck out five Bulldogs while walking only two. Nelson gave up seven hits and allowed two earned runs. In stark contrast, Wartburg used five pitchers who collectively struck out only two Harriman batters while walking sixteen. Wartburg’s pitchers allowed ten hits and gave up 15 earned runs.
Comparison of the raw number of hits of the two teams is a bit misleading – ten versus seven. Harriman hit five singles, four doubles, and one home run. Wartburg hit six singles, but could only muster one double.
After a scoreless first inning, Harriman put two runs on the board in the top of the second. Harriman’s first two batters walked and the third was hit by a pitch. An infield grounder put Tah’Darius Boyd on base due to a Wartburg error and scored Ethan Adkisson. With the bases loaded, Carter Smith walked, scoring Makail Moore. Harriman led 2-0.
Wartburg responded with singles by Elijah Langley and Colby Justes in the bottom of the second, but could not score, leaving runners stranded on second and third.
Then came the disastrous third inning for Wartburg, an inning in which eleven Blue Devils stepped into the batters box. Harriman’s first five batters reached base as Titan Dayton doubled, Nelson walked, Moore was hit by a pitch, Keaton Hall hit another double, and Boyd followed with a single, scoring three runs with no outs. Brady Stubbs bunted into a fielder’s choice, scoring Hall. Finally, with two outs, Brandon Turpin doubled on a fly ball to center, scoring Boyd and Stubbs. Titan Dayton then hit a line drive and reached base on an error, scoring Turpin. The Bulldogs were finally able to get the third out after allowing seven runs in the inning, falling behind 9-0.
Caleb Constant walked in the bottom of the third, then stole second, third, and finally home as other Wartburg batters either went down swinging or hit infield grounders. Wartburg put one run on the board without getting a hit, trailing 9-1 at the end of the third inning.
Three Harriman batters walked in the top of the fourth, but were left stranded on base. Wartburg did no better. In spite of two errors by Harriman and a ground ball single by Colby Justes, the Bulldogs went scoreless in the inning.
Harriman added two more runs in the top of the fifth as Turpin doubled, Nelson walked, and Moore singled. Wartburg retaliated by scoring three runs as Constant hit a single, Jeremiah Davis was hit by a pitch, Trevor Hill hit a single that scored Constant, and Harriman committed an error that allowed McPeters to reach base, also scoring Davis and Hill. Harriman led 11-4 after five innings.
Harriman came through with another big inning in the top of the sixth, scoring eight runs. Fourteen Harriman batters took their turn in the inning. Seven Harriman batters were walked by three Wartburg pitchers. After the first four Harriman batters walked, Titan Dayton stepped to the plate and belted one across the left field fence for a grand slam home run. Moore, Stubbs, and Smith each hit singles in the inning, scoring four more runs. Harriman extended its lead to 19-4.
Wartburg batters went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth, and Harriman walked away with a 19-4 victory and the Region 2-A Championship.
Harriman will face University School of Johnson City at home on Friday in sectional competition, while Wartburg travels to Greenback to face the Region 1-A Champion.
