Wildcats Punch Ticket to State

Tullahoma Wildcat pitchers shut out Soddy Daisy for 16 innings on Thursday, while the defense turned three double plays and the offense did just enough to carry the Wildcats to a 1-0, 5-0 sweep of visiting Soddy Daisy at Grider Stadium.

With the sectional round sweep, Tullahoma (30-10) earned a chance to defend its 2024 Class 3A state championship by advancing to the 2025 state tournament. The Wildcats will play on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro against the Hardin County/White House winner. All Tullahoma state tournament games will be broadcast live on 93.9 The Duck, 939theduck.com, and the 939 The Duck app.

Game one was a test of patience for both teams as Tullahoma’s Baylan Tuten and Soddy Daisy’s Alex Pinson locked horns for seven-plus innings, with neither allowing a run. Ben Quick (4-0) relieved Tuten in the ninth and didn’t allow a hit to get the win. Tuten pitched eight innings, allowing three hits with five strikeouts.

Soddy Daisy used two relievers, but in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Wildcats couldn’t be held down any longer. J.D. Schmisseur opened the inning with a single, and pinch runner Xander Pogue took his place at first.

Andrew Zebick then drew a walk, and Park Fulks was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for junior leftfielder Bryson Campbell, who once again delivered in the clutch with the walk-off, game-winning hit.

Game two was another pitcher’s duel, at least for the first four innings. Grayson Waller (4-0) started for the Wildcats and got the win, allowing just two hits with five strikeouts in five innings. Hunter Hogan pitched the final two innings for Tullahoma.

The Cats broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Andrew Fulmer, one of three finalists for the Class 3A Mr. Baseball Award, led off with a single, stole second, stole third, and scored on Andrew Zebick’s squeeze bunt.

Tullahoma added two more runs in the fifth. Trevor Cole singled, and Hogan reached on a fielder’s choice. With two outs, Tuten singled and Fulmer, the team leader in RBIs with 48, slammed a double off the outfield fence, scoring Hogan and Tuten and giving the home team a 3-0 lead.

The Wildcats added two more in the top of the seventh as insurance. Cole was hit by a pitch, Tuten singled, Fulmer walked, and Phillip Lemon drove in Cole and Tuten with a hard single to left field. Hogan shut the door on the Trojans in the bottom of the inning, and a capacity crowd celebrated another trip to state.

Additional schools advancing to the tournament in Tullahoma’s half of the bracket are Munford and Anderson County, with the Hardin County and White House winner unknown at press time.

On the other side of the Class 3A bracket, South Gibson, Chester County, and Greenville have punched their ticket, while Upperman and Red Bank are still playing to determine the eighth spot.

This trip to the state tournament is the 13th for the Tullahoma program since 1954. The Wildcats have won three (1974, 1990, 2024) and finished runner-up three times (1973, 1986, 1997), and have a tournament record of 20-16.