FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 3 seeded Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (26-9, 5-3) persevered over the No. 2 seeded Lincoln County Falcons (26-10, 5-3) with a best-of-3 series win in the District 6-AAAA Tournament semifinals on Friday and Saturday.

GAME ONE

On Friday, the Golden Eagles used a complete-game performance from Kaleb Maillet to take control of the series with a 6-3 win in game one. Maillet threw 7.0 innings, giving up just three runs – one earned – on seven hits and one walk with six strikeouts on 117 pitches.

The Falcons took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but the Golden Eagles responded with three runs in the top of the third to take a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish. First, Stephen Bobo led off with an infield single, Blake Bone walked, and both runners moved up on a groundout from Caden Peacock. Bobo came home to score on a pitch to Case Davis that was scored as a passed ball to trim the lead to 2-1 before Davis eventually walked. Brody Thomas struck out swinging, but Elijah Westbrooks was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Ashton Whorley. Whorley came through with the clutch 2-RBI single into left, giving the Golden Eagles took a 3-2 lead.

Shelbyville Central tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the fifth, starting with a leadoff walk from Peacock. Thomas followed that up with a one-out walk, then Whorley came through again with another 2-out RBI-single. Thomas came home on a wild pitch to Braxton Vari to extend the lead to 5-1.

The visitors added one more run in the top of the sixth to give Maillet a 6-2 lead with six outs to go, and Maillet only allowed one more run in the bottom of the seventh before securing the massive win.

At the plate, Stephen Bobo led off going 1-for-4 with a walk, Peacock went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, and Ashton Whorley finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Shelbyville Central left 10 runners on base after working eight walks and six hits.

GAME TWO

In the first game of the day on Saturday, Lincoln County kept its season alive for another game with a 10-0 run-rule victory after six innings. 

The Falcons totaled 12 hits to the Golden Eagles’ four, and they tagged Stephen Bobo for seven runs – five earned – in just 3.1 innings on six hits and three walks on 85 pitches. Bobo did strike out four batters. Cam Burke came on in relief, pitching the final 2.2 innings and giving up three runs – one earned – on six hits and one walk with two strikeouts. As a team, the Golden Eagles committed three crucial errors to keep rallies alive for Lincoln County.

The Falcons scored three in the third and then six in the fourth before tacking on the 10th run in the top of the sixth.

Bobo went 1-for-3 at the plate, Case Davis was 1-for-3, Whorley went 1-for-2, and Elijah Westbrooks finished 1-for-2. 

GAME THREE

This result set up a winner-take-all game three on Saturday evening, and the Golden Eagles responded with a 10-0 run-rule victory of their own in just five innings to stun the home crowd.

Brody Thomas was nearly perfect on the mound, pitching the full 5.0 innings and giving up no runs on one hit and three walks with two strikeouts on 75 pitches. Thomas also delivered at the plate, finishing a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a double to punch the Golden Eagles’ ticket to both the District 6-4A Championship and the Region 3-AAAA Tournament.

Shelbyville Central got the scoring started early and often with a pair of runs in the first inning. Blake Bone worked a one-out walk, Caden Peacock singled, and then Thomas came through with a two-out RBI-double to take a 1-0 lead. After Westbrooks walked to load the bases, Clint Quick was called for a balk to score Chase Billig from third. 

In the second, Miles McCullough began another Golden Eagles rally with a one-out single. Bobo worked a walk, then Blake Bone singled to load the bases with just one out. Caden Peacock was hit by a pitch to score a run, Case Davis grounded out to second to drive home another run, and then Thomas came up clutch with yet another two-out single to plate two more runs and take a 6-0 lead. 

As Thomas continued to flummox the Falcons’ offense, the Golden Eagles tacked on one more run in the top of the fourth before plating three more in the top of the fifth thanks to a pair of bases-loaded walks and a hit-by-pitch to take a commanding 10-0 lead heading into the home half. 

Thomas worked around a leadoff walk and a single to hold the Falcons scoreless and exact revenge on Lincoln County. The Falcons swept the Golden Eagles in the opening district series in the regular season, and Lincoln County also ended Shelbyville Central’s season a year ago in Fayetteville.

At the plate for Shelbyville Central, Stephen Bobo led off going 1-for-4 with a walk, Bone went 1-for-2 with two walks, and Peacock finished 1-for-2 with a walk and one RBI. Case Davis was 1-for-4 with an RBI, Thomas went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, and Westbrooks finished 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. Miles McCullough went 1-for-1 with two RBIs and two walks. 

Shelbyville Central travels to No. 1 seed Cookeville on Monday night for the District 6-AAAA Championship with first-pitch set for 6:00 p.m.