Article by Craig Harris (Gallatin News Examiner) 

HENDERSONVILLE – The Hendersonville High School baseball team was limited to three hits in Friday evening's Class AAA sectional contest against visiting Centennial.

However, the Commandos made the most of those, and junior pitcher Grant Williams handled the rest as Hendersonville reached the Class AAA State Tournament with a 3-1 victory at Drakes Creek Park.

"Last year, we played well," Hendersonville senior leftfielder Braden Schwerdt said. "We just didn't perform in the postseason. This year, we believed we could do it. We went out and did it.

"We made it to our goal of getting to the state tournament. Now, our goal is to win it."

It will be the program's fifth appearance in the state tournament, also advancing to that point in 1994, 1999, 2000 and 2003.

"It's very hard," Commando 25^th-year head coach Mike Hendrix said of reaching the state. "It's been 12 years (since the last trip). If somebody tells you it's easy, it's not. You have to have good players. You have to have good kids, and they have to come through at the right time."

Schwerdt added, "We've had so much fun this year, definitely in the postseason. We've played loose. We've had fun. I'm glad we're there. We've been looking forward to this for two years."

Schwerdt and his nine classmates on the team missed graduation at Hendersonville High School due to Friday's game.

The Hendersonville High administration conducted a ceremony on the field for the baseball seniors as they donned their graduation caps and gowns and were given their diplomas, with that ceremony starting approximately three hours after the bigger one across the street earlier in the evening.

"Driving over to batting practice, I saw everyone going to graduation," Schwerdt said. "It hit me that I wasn't going to be there, but this is where we wanted to be at the beginning of the year.

"We enjoyed the ceremony. It was fun."

Williams picked up his fourth win of the postseason, all of which have come over a 15-day stretch.

A leadoff double by senior Jake Lyle and a two-out single off of the bat of senior Billy Lowe gave the Cougars a first-inning run, but Williams allowed just two hits over the final six innings.

"My stuff wasn't working like it has been, but it was good enough to get the job done," Williams said. "They are all good hitters and tough outs. It makes you work a lot harder.

"I knew they were looking for a first-pitch fastball every time and a curveball (with counts of) 0-1 or 0-2."

Williams (9-1) issued one base on balls and struck out five hitters, throwing 115 pitches.

"Grant probably left a lot more over the plate than the other kid (Centennial senior left-hander Adam Mancour) did, but he goes out and guts it out for seven innings," Hendrix said. "He did a great job. Their kid did a great job. He kept our kids off balance."

In 25 innings this postseason, Williams has allowed just 12 hits and three walks while striking out 21 hitters.

"Before the postseason, I didn't come into any games nervous," Williams said. "The last three games, there have been butterflies.

"It's a lot more intense. It makes it a lot more fun. When you have a guy like (Centennial senior second baseman) Deon Sanders out there … he can hit a ball 450 feet."

The Commandos took the lead in the bottom of the second inning, with senior Austin Brown drawing a one-out walk and then junior Cooper Brenning reaching first base thanks to a two-out base on balls. Both baserunners moved up on a wild pitch, and Schwerdt laced a 2-2 pitch up the middle to drive in Brown and junior courtesy runner Jon Swindle.

"With two outs, you can't just hit (a fly ball) to the outfield," Schwerdt said. "He threw me a fastball, and I fouled it back. He fooled me with a change-up in the dirt. Then, he threw me another fastball. I took a level cut, and it slid up the middle."

Hendrix added, "We're fortunate that Schwerdt comes up as the eight hitter (in the batting order) and has a great at-bat and puts us up 2-1. That's the way it's been all year, somebody at the bottom of the order picking people up. A base hit in that situation couldn't happen to a better kid."

Williams led off the fourth inning with a single to centerfield, and Brown reached thanks to a catcher's interference call. Both baserunners moved up on a sacrifice bunt by senior Jarcques Wordlaw, and junior courtesy runner Aris Welden scored the game's final run on a wild pitch.

Brenning drew another walk moments later, and a wild pitch left two runners in scoring position. However, Mancour (8-1) escaped the jam thanks to a lineout and a groundout.

Sanders reached on an infield single in the sixth inning and stole second base with no outs. However, he was retired when he was caught in a rundown following a ground ball back to Williams.

Williams issued a one-out walk to senior Trevor Sigmon in the top of the seventh and threw two balls to junior Christian Blackwell before battling back to have a full count. Blackwell grounded a ball to senior second baseman Drew Richard, who flipped to senior shortstop Justin Long for a forceout.

Sigmon made a wide slide into second base, and though Long didn't throw on to first base in an attempt to complete the double play, one of the umpires ruled Blackwell out as well due to baserunner's interference.

The game-ending call prompted the players to hesitate before beginning their celebration, which included a dog-pile behind the pitcher's mound.

"(The low score) didn't surprise me," Cougar 12^th-year head coach Rob Baughman – whose program reached the state tournament in 2013 – said. "I know what our kids are about. There was no doubt that we were going to come here and give them a battle.

"It's a dirty shame that's the way the game had to end."

Hendersonville (33-11) will open play in the eight-team Class AA State Tournament on Tuesday. There will be two four-team brackets, one played at Oakland High and another at Siegel High. The blind draw for the double-elimination tournament is expected to take place on Sunday.

"I'm so proud of these guys," Hendrix – whose squad equaled a school record for single-season wins (also in 2003) with Friday's win – said. "They've worked so hard since they came in as freshmen. They've gotten a lot better. They deserve it.

"I think they will do a good job. They will handle the situation. We'll talk to them about what we can and can't do. You don't who you're going to get (matched up against). You just have to battle, do what you can and hope for the best."

Schwerdt and his classmates planned to celebrate both the state berth and graduation later on Friday night.

"We have a couple of graduation parties to go to," Schwerdt said. "It's just being together. We'll focus on baseball (later in the weekend), and we'll have some fun.

"You're a top-eight (team) in the state. Hopefully, there will be a big crowd there. It will be fun."

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

 

Centennial 100 000 0 – 1 4 0

Hendersonville 020 100 x – 3 3 1

Adam Mancour and Billy Lowe; Grant Williams and Cooper Brenning. WP – Williams (9-1). LP – Mancour (8-1). Records: Centennial 27-9, Hendersonville 33-11.