BRISTOL, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – With summer coming to a close and school getting back underway, players of the Clarksville National Little League 12U Blue baseball team return to class with a championship plaque after competing in the state tournament. The team competed in Bristol, coming in fifth overall.
CNLL cruised through their district-tournament field, outscoring their opponents 38-6 to secure a title and punch their ticket to the state tournament in Bristol.
Beau Bryant, Drew Hawkins and Haiden Evans were all stellar on the mound and proved to be indispensable pieces of the team moving forward.
CNLL took on the host-team in their first game of the tournament, picking up a 14-7 win in a back-and-forth affair.
“We’ve got 11 kids who are all a huge part of the team and they’re all fairly interchangeable,” Clarksville National Little League 12U Blue coach Jim Jobe said. “In the Bristol game, Haiden Evans started and threw 50 pitches, then Drew Hawkins and Greg Doman came in and finished it out.”
In their second game of the tournament, CNLL was shut out 10-0 by Goodlettsville; however, the final score was not indicative of how close the game actually was.
“In the Goodlettsville game Beau Bryant pitched a gem,” Jobe said. “That game was 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning. Beau was throwing really well, but it just kind of got away from us. Goodlettsville scored four in the fifth and five in the sixth to put us away. It’s just one of those things.”
After being dealt their first loss, CNLL faced an uphill battle, having to win five-straight games in order to capture a state championship in the double-elimination format.
With little room for error, CNLL allowed eight runs in the opening inning of the game and never recovered, falling to Lexington 13-3 in their final game of the season.
Even though the outcome wasn’t what CNLL had hoped for, Jobe was extremely proud of his group for finishing fifth in the state tournament.
“Not the results we wanted but these are really good kids that just love playing baseball,” Jobe said. “I have enjoyed working with them over the last few years.”
The team is coached by Jim Jobe, Dustin Campbell and Josh Smith. Players include: Bradyn Deering, Drew Hawkins, Cole Jobe, Noah Baggett, Bennett Smith, Haiden Evans, Beau Bryant, Tyler Mixon, Greg Doman, Drew Campbell and Trice Pulley.
Goodlettsville defeated Morristown in the championship game to advance to the 12U Southeast Regional in Warner Robins, Georgia.