William Blount will face rival Maryville

By Alan Yarbrough
of The Daily Times Staff

FARRAGUT -- Jumping out to a big, early lead allowed the William Blount baseball team to coast to a 9-1 victory over Lenoir City in the District 4-AAA tournament at Farragut on Monday.

But perhaps more important, the lead gave pitching ace Tyler Burstrom an opportunity to test his injured shoulder and neck for the first time since early March. In his lone inning, the senior gave up a lead-off infield single but settled down to retire the next three batters.

"It felt like my first game as a freshman," Burstrom said. "I was smiling the whole time. I don't throw near as hard as I used to, but that's just part of it."

Based on the results, Governor coach Richie Wilhite said there's a "good chance" Burstrom, who compiled a 2.50 ERA his first three years, will pitch today when No. 3 seed WB has a potential doubleheader. It will first take on Maryville, which beat South-Doyle, 12-6, earlier on Monday, at 4 p.m. The winner will then face the Farragut/Bearden loser in an elimination game.

"It was kind of a rehab assignment," Wilhite said. "He's been playing third a little bit, and his arm has felt good. If we can get him some innings on the mound, I think we've got a real good chance."

An offensive performance similar to Monday's wouldn't hurt either. The Governors scored four runs in the opening inning and weren't challenged the rest of the way from eighth-seeded Lenoir City. Kevin Houser started it with a run-scoring double, and Travis Webb followed with a two-RBI double. Mike Cunningham ended the scoring with a run-producing single.

"We came out focused right from the start," said Webb, who later added a two-run homer in the fifth inning. "In the first inning, we scored four runs and that helped us a lot."

William Blount followed with a run in the second and two more in the fifth and sixth innings.

On the mound, Jordan Childres was the winner after tossing four innings, giving up five hits and a run. Ricky Robinson also pitched well, allowing one base runner in two innings.

"We had a good approach," Wilhite said. "We came out early and got ahead and stayed focused. We got a great performance out of Jordan Childres and Ricky Robinson."