CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The No. 4-seeded Kirkwood Cobras traveled to Clarksville High for the District 13-4A baseball semifinals against the No. 1-seeded Wildcats on Wednesday. Clarksville led early, but a late rally from the Cobras tied the game in the seventh. Wildcats right fielder Carter Hedrick walked it off with an RBI single, escaping game one with a win, 5-4.

The Wildcats got on the board early, loading the bases with no outs and scoring Benton Barksdale on a wild pitch, but one run was all they could get across. A pitcher’s duel ensued between Clarksville’s Dean Fields and Kirkwood’s Evan Frederick, with no runs scoring for the next four innings. 

Baseball player in a white Clarksville jersey (no. 25) throwing a ball on the infield with a purple outfield wall behind him.
Young baseball player in a gray uniform throws a ball on the dirt infield, with a purple outfield wall and large tournament banners in the background.
Baseball player slides headfirst into the dirt, wearing a purple helmet with a C and a white uniform.
Baseball player in gray and red with number 22 and an orange cap reaches up to catch a high fly ball with his glove in the outfield.
Baseball batter in gray uniform swings at a pitched ball during a game.
Two baseball players in white uniforms on a dirt infield; one leaps to catch a ball with a glove while the other runs beside him as the ball flies overhead, with a purple fence in the background.
Baseball batter in gray uniform swings at a pitch during a game, helmet on, bat labeled Louisville Slugger, catcher crouched nearby.
A baseball pitcher in gray and orange uniform throwing from the pitcher's mound, with dirt spraying as his foot lands and a fielder in the background.
Baseball pitcher in a white uniform winds up on the mound, throwing a pitch toward home plate as the ball sails ahead.
Baseball player in gray Cobras jersey #34 runs on the infield dirt during a game, wearing a helmet and glove.
Baseball player in a Cobra gray uniform celebrates on the dirt field with clenched fists while teammates approach and fans watch from the stands.

Despite a runner on third with no out in the fourth inning, Kirkwood couldn’t scratch any across. Clarksville finally got a bit of insurance in the fifth with a Cobra error scoring District 13-4A MVP Keaton Anderson. However, Kirkwood’s Alex Rosenberger scored a runner in the sixth on an RBI single, and a Wildcat error got one more across. All of a sudden, we had a tie ball game, and Clarksville fans fell silent.

“We just didn’t play well enough today,” said Wildcats head coach Brian Hetland. “We got a good performance today from Fields, but we didn’t back him up. Props to their pitcher; he did a good job commanding the contest. I told them that if they want to keep playing, we can’t play as we did.

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Fields’ day ended after allowing four hits in 5.1 innings while striking out seven, but Frederick stayed in the contest to finish his complete game. Braxton Weatherford took the lead back from the Cobras with an RBI single, and, along with a Cobra error, the Wildcats were back up by two runs. A two-RBI single from Michael Pena, who led Kirkwood in hits with 2, in the top of the seventh jolted the Cobras back with life. But Dawson Smith slammed the door in relief, and “Mr. Clutch” Carter Hedrick walked it off with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to secure a win in the first round of the district tournament.

Frederick ended the day with eight hits and four strikeouts, and the Cobras will now face Northeast in an elimination game on Thursday at 4 p.m.

“You’re never happy with a loss, and there’s no such thing as a moral victory, but I challenged them to compete and play clean baseball, and for the most part we did,” said Cobras head coach Rick Yauger. “We’ve been looking for that performance from Frederick all year, and for him to do that on that stage, it shows us a lot about his character. If we show up tomorrow and play the way we did, we’ll be just fine.”

As for the Wildcats, they stay in the winners’ bracket after one of the closest games in the opening round of the district tournament that the Wildcats have had in a long time. They will face rival Rossview at 7 p.m. on Thursday, with the winner advancing to the district title and securing a spot in the region tournament.

“As bad as we played, we had guys make plays when they needed to,” said Hetland. “Smith did a great job closing the door, and Hedrick did it again. We were just fortunate we had the last at bat today.”

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