Final look: ’22 h-school spring

Irish baseball 3rd in II-AA state

Though it fell short of winning a state title, Knoxville Catholic High School’s baseball team had its best post-season finish under seventh-year head coach Caleb Moore.

The Fighting Irish (26-14) ended the season third at the Division II-AA State Tournament in Murfreesboro,.

Junior Daniel Parris, a Mr. Baseball finalist and Tennessee Vols commit, played both shortstop and pitched. He led the team in home runs and RBI while hitting above .400 for the season.

“He did really, really well for us,” Moore said. “He pitched a complete game against Briarcrest (a 5-2 road win in the substate best-of three series), then turned right around and pitched a complete game shutout against Lipscomb (3-0 in the state tourney).”

Other top KCHS players this year, according to Moore, were junior centerfielder Ian Hubbard, who missed the state tournament, and senior outfielder Nate Breeden.

“He had a really good series (at state) and played really well down the stretch,” Moore said of Breeden.

Overall, “We had a group of guys who were very resilient,” the coach said. “We lose a lot, but we have a really good nucleus of juniors and others coming back.”