Article by Craig Harris (Gallatin News Examiner) 

HENDERSONVILLE – Hendersonville High School made quite an impression on Grant Williams in October of 2013.

“It’s walking into a new school,” Williams said. “Whenever I visited the school, it was nice. It was like a high school on TV. I liked it.

“The move was beneficial.”

The tables are turned now though.

It’s Williams who is making quite an impression.

The junior pitcher outdueled one of the state’s most highly-touted prospects on Monday evening, propelling the Commando baseball squad into the regional championship game with a 1-0 victory over visiting Clarksville  in a Region 5-AAA Tournament semifinal contest played at Drakes Creek Park.

“It’s been exciting,” Williams – who transferred from West Monroe (La.) High School due a job that his mother accepted in the Nashville area – said. “It’s more fun when there’s a lot of people in the stands. It’s exciting. The atmosphere’s been great. It’s even more fun when we keep winning, especially close games.”

This is the program’s furthest advancement since 2003, when Hendersonville placed fourth in the state.

“It’s exciting,” Commando junior catcher Cooper Brenning said. “It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing the game, because it means so much.”

Hendersonville senior rightfielder Austin Brown added, “The game gets bigger for us, but we still have to play our game. We have to slow the game down and play it like we want to play it.”

Williams picked up his third win of the postseason, all of which came over a nine-day stretch.

“He was around the zone,” Commando head coach Mike Hendrix said. “He’s around the zone all of the time, and his curveball was great. He did a great job. I can’t say enough about what Grant did. I can’t say enough about what he’s done all year.”

Brenning added, “Grant’s really good about not worrying about how hard he is throwing. He has a lot of movement on his fastball. As the game goes on, he naturally gets looser and throws harder.”

Conquering Mount Everett

However, Williams wasn’t throwing as hard as his pitching counterpart on Monday, Clarksville’s 6-foot-4 senior right-hander Donny Everett.

“When you are facing a guy like (Everett), it’s a whole different level,” Williams said. “You just have to step up. It’s definitely more intense. It’s nerve-wracking, especially hitting against him.”

Everett (9-1) – a Vanderbilt University signee who is one of three finalists for the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Mr. Baseball Award in Class AAA – allowed just two hits, issued one base on balls and struck out six hitters.

However, despite the meager production, Hendrix was pleased with his players’ approach at the plate.

“When we found out we were going to play them, on Friday at practice, we had a sit-down conversation over here under the tree (outside the fence along the third-base line),” Hendrix said. “We told them that you have to stay off of the high fastball and get the ball down. We moved the portable mound up to 45 feet, and we tried to simulate (Everett’s 90-plus-mile-per-hour velocity). Clay (Sanders, a Hendersonville assistant coach) did a great job of pitching, and on Sunday, Britte (Underwood, another Commando assistant coach) did the same. They worked their butts off doing that. I appreciate that. I’m very pleased. Just cut down on your swing, put it in play and hope for the best.

“We went in knowing that if we could score one or two runs, we’d have a chance.”

One run and done

Hendersonville (31-11) – the District 9-AAA Tournament champion – produced baserunners in four different innings and left three stranded in scoring position (two at third base). Everett ended two of those three innings with strikeouts.

“We were just trying to have a big emphasis on the release and seeing it down, because you’re not going to be able to catch up to a fastball up (in or above the strike zone),” Brenning said. “We were trying to hit a fastball early.”

Brown had both Hendersonville hits.

“During practice on Friday and Sunday, our coach moved up a little closer,” Brown said. “I felt like I applied it as much as I could from those two practices into the (batter’s) box.”

The lone run came in the fourth inning as senior Ben Smith drew a one-out base on balls that came on a full-count pitch that was above the strike zone.

Following a strikeout, Brown hit a bloop double down the leftfield line that landed in front of a sliding Luke Chilcutt, the team’s sophomore shortstop.

Smith trotted home moments later as Everett was called for a balk.

“I’m not saying it wasn’t a balk, but it’s a tough way to lose a baseball game,” Wildcat head coach Brian Hetland said. “You want a team to have to earn it, but they put a few more runners on than we did.”

Hendrix added, “(Everett) is pretty good. His breaking ball, he wasn’t throwing it for a lot of strikes, and we got lucky. He didn’t stop one time (in his pitching motion). The guy (umpire) called it. That’s part of it.”

Williams’ will to win

Clarksville (30-11) – the District 10-AAA Tournament runner-up – managed just two hits off of Williams, an infield single by senior Mitch Muhlada with two outs in the third inning and a one-out single up the middle by senior Nolen Milton in the seventh.

“We knew Williams was good,” Hetland said. “When the wind was blowing in, I knew that was going to be a factor. We thought we had more of a strikeout pitcher, but Williams struck out a lot.”

Williams retired the final two hitters with ground balls, the first of which was fielded by Long at shortstop and thrown to senior second baseman Drew Richard for a forceout. That play almost ended the game as Richard threw on to Smith at first base for what would have been a game-ending double play, but Everett was ruled safe as Smith pulled his foot off of first base.

However, the 6-foot-3 right-hander retired the next batter – sophomore Teal Young – on a ground ball back to the mound.

The game lasted just one hour and 20 minutes.

Everett was also on the losing end of a 1-0 setback to end the Wildcats’ season last year, an eighth-inning, sectional loss at Brentwood.

“It was an awesome baseball game with two awesome pitchers,” Hetland said. “I felt like it might go eight or nine innings the way it was going.

“We just didn’t put enough balls in play to give ourselves a chance. Both pitchers threw great. It was a great atmosphere. It was a great crowd. It was a great high-school game.”

A mound of efficiency

Williams (8-1) finished with seven strikeouts and did not issue a base on balls, pitching amidst an array of college and professional scouts who were there to witness Everett’s talent.

“There’s been people watching (Williams) too,” Brenning said. “Our coaches tell us that they are coming to watch (Everett), but they may see us too. Grant definitely got his name on a list out there somewhere.”

Williams threw 60 of his 75 pitches for strikes on Monday.

“It’s probably the best as far as how I’ve been feeling these last two games,” Williams said. “I’ve had more command of three pitches (fastball, curveball and change-up) instead of two. I’ve been working the corners better, and my curveball has been clicking. Everything has been working for me.”

That heightened efficiency has been normal for Williams recently. In three postseason starts (covering 18 innings), he has thrown just 231 pitches, with 73 percent of those resulting in strikes. Williams has allowed just eight hits and two walks in the postseason, while striking out 16 hitters.

“We’ve been playing together for so long,” Brenning said. “I’m a grade younger (than the team’s 10 seniors), but I’ve been playing with them since (the summer) before my freshman year. If we can’t get a hit, we want the next guy to get a hit.

“Seeing Grant throw a game like this makes me just as happy as going 4-for-4 (offensively).”

Hendrix added, “I’m thrilled to death for these young guys. I’m thrilled to death for our baseball program. It’s been a long time since we’ve been here. They are the ones who have to go out and execute. They did a great job.”

Hendersonville advanced to face Wilson Central – a 5-2 winner at Rossview in Monday evening’s other 5-AAA semifinal – for the third time this season in Wednesday evening’s Region 5-AAA championship game. Region champions host one of Friday’s eight Class AAA sectional contests, while the region runner-up squads have to travel for their sectional contests.

Sectional winners move on to next week’s Class AAA State Tournament.

Sports reporter Craig Harris can be contacted at 575-7138.

 

Clarksville 000 000 0 – 0 2 2

Hendersonville 000 100 x – 1 2 0

Donny Everett and Kendall Tyrell; Grant Williams and Cooper Brenning. WP – Williams (8-1). LP – Everett (9-1). Records: Clarksville 30-11, Hendersonville 31-11.