CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Montgomery Central played Jackson Southside during sectional play on Friday. The Indians came away with a 7-4 victory to advance to the state tournament.
Montgomery Central struck first as Gabe Eddington found a gap in the top of the first inning. He proceeded to score on a sacrifice fly. Jackson Southside wasted no time to respond.
The Hawks had seven consecutive batters get on base, which led to four runs scored during the second inning of play. However, this turned out to be their only runs of the game.
Montgomery Central kept their opponent in check due to quality pitching and defense. This gave their offense a chance to find a way to produce, and that’s exactly what they did. After scoring an additional run in the third, the Indians scored four runs in the fourth inning. This made the score 6-4, and the team held on for the win.
“The feeling is hard to describe,” said Montgomery Central head coach Todd Dunn. “For two weeks people have thought our season was over, but the team kept fighting each game. To watch our players go through four elimination games and make it to state makes me speechless. People look at our record and think we can’t be that good. They don’t know half of those games were against teams from all classifications that made regionals. The boys rose to the occasion once again.”
In addition, Dunn mentioned that he did not watch the last inning. Instead, he watched his players and their reactions as the moment sank in.
Montgomery Central is scheduled to begin their state tournament journey on Tuesday. The Indians will take on Covington High, and the game is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. This is the team’s first state tournament appearance since 2004.