CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The No. 3-seeded Northeast Eagles and No. 2-seeded Rossview Hawks met at Clarksville High School for the first round of the District 13-4A tournament on Wednesday in the Battle of the Birds. The Hawks scored seven runs in the first innings, highlighted by a Becket Haselhuhn grand slam, and ran away with a 13-1 mercy rule win to start the postseason with a statement.

Northeast set the tone early, with a Jamarion Green RBI single to cap three straight hits in the first three at-bats. Hawks pitcher and the District 13-4A Pitcher of the Year Jayden Gaylor got things under control, and the Hawks responded quickly, scoring 13 runs in the first three innings. It was highlighted by a grand slam from Beckett Haselhuhn and four hits, including a triple, from Jackson Perry.

| SPORTS REPORT: Sign up for the new weekly Clarksville sports newsletter

“This time of year, everyone fights to keep their season going, and I’m glad our guys came out and wanted that,” said Hawks head coach Parker Holman. “We trusted our training, didn’t try to do too much, and trusted their teammates. When you simplify it and just go hit, good things happen.

Gaylor then returned to his normal self, recording no hits after the first three at-bats, while striking out six in 3.1 innings pitched. The Eagles’ offense never quite got going, and the Hawks ran away with a big postseason win. The Eagles will now face Kirkwood in an elimination game at 4 p.m., while Rossview will face their rival, Clarksville, at 7 p.m., for the right to go to the district title and a spot in the region tournament.

“We didn’t perform,” said Northeast head coach Charles Ratliff. “You can’t do that against a Rossview team. We came out hot, but didn’t handle adversity well. It’s win or go home, that’s it. You have to find a way to advance.”

“Gaylor did a good job of keeping his composure, and our guys backed him up,” said Holman. Our guys want one more Monday together. We have to continue to go out there and play as hard as we can until the umpire says we can’t play anymore.”

| DOWNLOAD THE APP: Sign up for our free Clarksville Now app