Bearden's Garrett Copeland (16) attempts to beat the throw toward William Blount's Mitchell Howard (24) Saturday at Bearden High School in Knoxville.

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Dogged in the district: WB falls to Bearden in tournament play, 2-1

By Pete Herbert
Daily Times Correspondent
Originally published: May 04. 2008 3:01AM
Last modified: May 04. 2008 12:35AM

KNOXVILLE -- If William Blount and Bearden were playing cards, Bearden pitcher Andy Fennell would have been the dealer.

But they were not playing cards; they were playing baseball and, well, Fennell dealt.

In the nightcap game of the District 4-AAA tournament at Bearden, the Govs could only scrape together three hits in the 2-1 loss against the hosting Bulldogs.

William Blount will next face Lenoir City at Farragut on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

"We played right with them all night," said WB coach Richie Wilhite. "We got good pitching, played good defense, but just struggled a bit at the plate. We looked a little timid offensively."

Nathan Chapman had one of the Governor hits, which came in the first inning, and Travis Webb produced the other two. Webb also contributed the team's only run with a solo shot in the top of the second inning.

A home run in the bottom of the first off the bat of Bulldog Matthew Scruggs gave Bearden an early lead. And in a bang-bang near-double play, which could have gone either way, the base runner was called safe at first and the Bulldogs scored their second run.

Bearden's Fennell threw four innings of perfect baseball and struck out nine in the seven-inning, complete game win.

For William Blount, Adam Crisp started the game, going two innings before Mitchell Howard took the bump for four innings in relief. Crisp gave up one run on four hits, while Howard allowed one run on two hits.

The Govs threatened in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with two outs, but couldn't find a way to even the score or go ahead, and they dropped to the losers' bracket.

"We have to have a short memory," Wilhite said. "That's been our approach to everything. Learn from mistakes and move on, but now our backs are against the wall.

"We have to come out on Monday focuses. Start early. We can't wait until the seventh inning to put on some pressure."