CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville National 10-12U Little League baseball team hosted Goodlettsville for the third game in the winners bracket in the Tennessee State Tournament on Tuesday. Before the game, Coach Roland Fanning, Austin Peay State University’s head baseball coach, came to talk to the team and deliver an inspiring message.
Goodlettsville kicked off the game with a two-run shot in the first inning to get ahead early, and scratched one more run across in the second to take a 3-0 lead. That remained the score for four more innings, as both pitchers got into a groove, and they were leaving runners stranded.
“This is a tough team; when you play a team like this, you have to go punch for punch,” said Clarksville National head coach Matt Sundstrom. “We got down early, allowed two many free bases, but we stayed in the game, and made a lot of plays preventing the game from blowing open.”
National finally scratched one run across in the bottom of the fifth, courtesy of a hustle play from Boone Hampton and a RBI from Wesley Moore. National then loaded the bases, but left them all stranded, and the team failed to put up any runs in the sixth and final innings, falling 6-1.
The good news for Clarksville National is that it’s double elimination, and they’re not out of this thing yet. They will play Wednesday at 7 p.m. for their tournament lives.
“We just kept fighting, and as long as we keep doing that we’re gonna be alright,” said Sundstrom. “We’re still in this thing, the goal now is just to stay alive. I told the team I know the loss stings but we’re still here, we could play three more games this week, and that’s the goal.”
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