Wildcat Hopes for Repeat Dashed

The defense of Tullahoma’s 2024 baseball state title ended Friday afternoon in Murfreesboro

when the Munford Cougars beat the Wildcats 5-2 in the semifinals of the 2025 Class 3A state

tournament at Blackman High School.

Tullahoma (32-12) opened the tournament Wednesday with a 3-2 loss to White House, but

came back Thursday and beat Anderson County 3-0 and White House 3-0 to advance to Friday.Munford (22-15) sailed through the bracket with three consecutive wins. The Cougars played Greeneville on Saturday for the Class 3A state championship.

The loss ended the high school careers for the senior class, most of whom played major roles in last year’s title run. During their three varsity years (some played as freshmen), the Wildcats

compiled a record of 93 wins and 30 losses, won three straight regular-season district titles, two district tournament titles, two region titles, and two sectional series.

Head Coach Bryan Morris and assistants Chevis Hoover and Harper Case set the Tullahoma

lineup late in the season and stayed with it consistently during the postseason. However, Mason Bratcher, senior pitcher and third baseman, went down with an injury in the district tournament and didn’t play again until Friday.

The absence of the District 8-3A Pitcher of the Year, who also hit almost .400 batting cleanup

and is a tremendous third baseman, was significant for the Cats. History will forever hold the

question that can’t be answered: What if Mason hadn’t been injured?

All games were postponed on Tuesday when thunderstorms rolled through middle Tennessee.

After Munford beat Anderson County in Game 1 on Wednesday, the Wildcats started with a

bang, scoring two runs in the first inning against White House starter Easton Biggs.

After Hunter Hogan grounded out, Baylan Tuten reached on a White House error, and Andrew

Fulmer slammed a double, chasing Tuten to third. Philip Lemmon grounded out, scoring Tuten,

and J.D. Schmisseur slapped a single that drove in Fulmer.

Junior Wildcat starter Lucas Taylor-Rodriquez (2-1, 1.52 ERA), staked with an early lead, was

fantastic, allowing only a walk in the first two innings. The Blue Devils scored a run in the third,

stringing together a pair of hits and a walk.

Tullahoma couldn’t generate anything offensively, and Taylor-Rodriquez mowed down the

opponent until the sixth inning. After two quick outs, Taylor-Rodriquez hit TJ Hardcastle, who

advanced to second and then third on two passed balls. After walking another batter, junior Ben Quick relieved Taylor-Rodriquez on the mound for the Cats.

With runners at first and third, Quick was called for a balk, advancing the base runners and

scoring the tying run for White House. Neither team scored in the seventh, and the game went

into extra innings.

Lemmon opened the eighth with a line drive single, but three straight Wildcats were sat down on called third strikes. White House took advantage, opening the bottom of the eighth with a Barrett Brown double and scoring the winning run on a single by Alex Brown with one out.

Falling to the elimination bracket, the Wildcats were forced to win two games on Thursday to

advance. Anderson County (31-13) was the first opponent after its loss to White House in game two. With their seasons on the line, the Wildcats and Mavericks took the field on a bright, sunny Thursday morning.

Wildcat starter Baylan Tuten (6-3, 1.35 ERA) was in prime form, mowing down Maverick batters with 12 strikeouts while allowing only one hit and four walks. Tullahoma’s offense did just enough in the third inning to give Tuten all the run support he needed.

With one out, Hogan reached on an error, and Tuten singled to right field. Fulmer, the District 8-3A Co-MVP and a Class 3A Mr. Baseball finalist, slammed a double to drive home Hogan and Tuten. Schmisseur hit a laser single to left field, driving home Fulmer, and Tuten cruised to the victory on the mound.

After White House beat Anderson County and eliminated the Mavericks, the Wildcats came

back on Thursday night with a chance for revenge against the Blue Devils. They got what they

were after.

Senior Grayson Waller (5-0, 2.03 ERA) was lights out on the mound for the Cats to clinch

Tullahoma’s spot in the semifinals. Waller gave up only two hits and struck out five with two

walks. The Wildcat offense scored three runs in the first inning, and that was all Waller needed.

Hogan started the game with a single, and Fulmer singled with one out. Lemmon reached on a

White House error to load the bases, and Schmisseur drove in Hogan and Fulmer with a sharp

single to center field. Sophomore Parke Fulks singled with two outs to drive home pinch runner

Nate Wilkerson to give Tullahoma the 3-0 lead.

An hour later, the game ended, and the Tullahoma baseball family celebrated a chance to play another day. Unfortunately, the party was short-lived.

Friday afternoon, Tullahoma had to beat Munford twice to advance to the championship game. Bratcher (8-1, 1.39 ERA), noticeably limping, started on the mound for the Wildcats but was obviously not 100 percent. However, ‘The Chief’ gave his all for Tullahoma, but his defense let him down early, and the offense never got going.

The Wildcats wasted a leadoff single by Hogan in the first inning, while the Cougars took

advantage of every opportunity in their half of the first.

Bratcher struck out the leadoff batter, but Jack Fortner reached on an error, Noah Lowry

walked, and Curly Lowry drove in Fortner with a double. Hudson Wright reached on another

Wildcat error, scoring the second run and staking Munford to an early 2-0 lead.

Schmisseur hit a double to the outfield wall to open the third inning for Tullahoma, and Andrew Zebick reached on an error, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Fulks grounded into a double play, scoring Schmisseur, but a strikeout ended the Wildcat threat.

Munford added a run in the third inning and two more in the fifth to build a 5-1 lead. Ben Quick relieved Bratcher in the fourth inning with two outs and two runners on base, but gave up a pair of singles and runs that built the Cougars’ lead.

Hogan pitched the final two innings, allowing only a walk, but Tullahoma’s offense could not

generate a comeback. Munford sophomore Drew McCann pitched a complete game, scattering

six Wildcat hits and one walk.

The state tournament trip was the 13th in Tullahoma baseball history. The program won state

championships in 1974, 1990, and 2024, and finished runner-up in 1973, 1986, and 1997.