2016 Middle Tennessee Longshots. Front row(left to right) Jayden Fellers, Cole Pippenger, Gaige Turner, Braden Williams & Tyler Craig. Middle row(left to right) Kyler Terry, Jayron Morris, Nolan Jernigan, Beau Murray & Boo Greene. Back row(left to right) coaches Keith Pippenger. Mike Jernigan, Jason Craig & Tim Fellers.
The Middle Tennessee Longshots baseball team claimed a 7 to 4 win in Sunday’s Baseball Players Association(BPA) World Series championship in Chattanooga. With the win, the Longshots were crowned as the 10 and under Gold Major champions as they finished the World Series with a record of 5 and 1. The Longshots, featuring a majority of players from the Manchester area, defeated the Murfreesboro Black Sox in the finals to claim the title. The Black Sox came out of the loser’s bracket to steal a win in the early game on Sunday by a final score of 9 to 7 before the Longshots dispatched them in the finale for the title.
The Longshots were 2 and 0 in pool play as they got wins over Sandy Plains, GA and the Nashville Knights. In bracket play the Longshots opened with a 9 to 4 win over the Georgia Tomahawks as Cole Pippenger was 3 for 3 at the plate. In the 2nd bracket game, Nolan Jernigan pitched a no-hitter and had a home run to lead the Longshots over the Nashville Knights 12 to 0. In the winners’ bracket finals, the Longshots needed a come-from-behind 7 to 6 win over the Murfreesboro Black Sox to punch their ticket to Sunday’s final. Trailing 6 to 4 in the 3rd, Jayden Fellers came on in relief to hold the Black Sox and Brayden Williams got a walk-off single in the bottom of the 6th to complete the comeback. Kyler Terry had a home run in the win for the Longshots.
In the first finals game on Sunday, Kyler Terry had a home run and Jayron Morris added 3 RBI in the losing effort for the Longshots. In the championship game, Cole Pippenger got the win on the bump and was 2 for 3 at the plate in the winning effort. Kyler Terry added another home run to make his 3rd round tripper of the tournament.
The win ends the summer season for the Longshots and ends their time in 10 and under competition. The team finished the year with a record of 40 wins and 9 losses. The team competed in 12 tournaments this season winning 6 tournaments while making 2 other tournament finals appearances. The Longshots will take off the rest of the summer before beginning 11 and under competition in the fall. The Longshots will also appear on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show broadcast live from Al White Ford/Lincoln. The Coffee Coaches Show begins at 10 AM each and every Saturday and the public is invited to come out and congratulate these young men on their outstanding season.
