CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville National 10-12U team faced off against Johnson City in the opening round of the double-elimination Tennessee Little League state tournament. An offensive showcase early and a gutty pitching performance from Wesley Moore powered Clarksville National to an 8-3 victory.
Clarksville National set the tone on offense from the beginning, kicked off with a lead-off homer by John Kent, who went 3-3 on the night. Clarksville National would put on a clinic at the plate, scoring eight runs in the first three innings, and collecting 11 hits on the night.
Head Coach Matt Sundstrom was happy to see his team’s practice come to fruition.
“We’ve been working in the cages all week hitting all different types of pitches,” Sundstrom said. “This is a really good hitting group, as long as we can keep it going and be disciplined at the plate, good things should happen for us.”
The offense will get the shine for the win, but the pitching performance from Wesley Moore was fantastic. The right-hander pitched five innings, allowing only three runs on three hits, while striking out three. Pierce Hunt came in and closed the game out in the sixth inning, retiring three straight batters in the sixth to end the game.
“Pitching and defense rules the day, any coach will tell you that,” Sundstrom said. “We limited free bases, and I told the pitchers to just attack the hitters, you’ve got a great defense behind you. That’s how you win games.”
Clarksville National stays in the winner bracket, and will play Sunday at 1 p.m. The team only needs to win three more games for a state title. For coach Sundstrom, the message to his team is to take this tourney one game at a time.
“I hate to sound cliche, but we have to take this one game at a time,” said Sundstrom. “We came out here not just to play in this tournament, but with a goal of winning it. If we take that approach, hopefully good things will happen for us.”
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