Ads out-joust Knights in thriller
Still, he kept his eyes peeled for another opportunity. It arrived with another wild pitch, which sent McElvain into a scramble and, eventually, an overthrow of pitcher Kyson Barney.
That left a perfect window for the player nicknamed “Turbo,” who sprinted home and slid across the plate to deliver a 4-3 victory after a rollercoaster eight innings in the Admirals’ home opener.
“I was just a little hesitant because of the first one,” Kureshi-Smith said of the wild pitches, his hair mussed after teammates bombarded him at the plate. “The ball bounced off a little weird. And all our players can hit it hard, so I didn’t want to give myself up.“
His two-out test in patience proved effective, as did Kureshi-Smith’s approach at the plate and in the field. Before scoring the winning run, the centerfielder tied the game 3-3 on a two-out, two-RBI double to undo a two-run shot from McElvain in the top half of the eighth.
Combined, those plays brought a fitting end for the prep baseball edition of a Pay-Per-View prize fight, which brought plenty of pro scouts to Friday’s contest.
“It’s always good to be victorious against a team like that,” FHS coach Garrett Copeland said. “They’re a really good team that will compete for a spot in Murfreesboro, so it’s always good to challenge ourselves against a team like that.”
Copeland wanted to test his team early in his second season, wanting to prepare his team for a packed district slate and, eventually, a potential fifth-straight 4A state title.
Nolensville struck first on an Admiral error in the third inning.
Two innings later, a Mason Shelton RBI single scored Neyland Williams to tie the score.
The teams remained locked at 1 until the bottom of the seventh when Farragut loaded the bases with a chance to walk it off.
Two straight strikeouts followed on a night when FHS finished just 6-of-31 at the plate.
“We need to do better than what we did — got to execute better offensively and have some things to work on,” Copeland said. “But at the end of the day, we were down late and stuck with it and managed a victory.”
The FHS pitching staff gutted through the middle innings, dulling the Knights’ swords during the stalemate. Corey Cole, Will Criner, Joey Ray and Aidan Flagg combined to allow just two hits and three runs, two earned, with four strikeouts.
Flagg picked up the win, and the Knights came up empty on 25 of 28 at-bats.
“Our pitching staff did great, gave up two hits over eight innings,” Copeland said. “They competed in the strike zone. To go against a team like that for eight or nine innings and only give up two hits, I think it says a lot about them.“
Now, FHS will look for the same output this week in a Spring Break tournament in Florida.
And while there will likely be some beach time carved into the schedule, Copeland also wants to see his team answer the bell like it did last Friday.
“I want to see us respond to the challenges we will face,” he said. “We’re going to face good competition, so we want to toe the line, accept the challenge and meet it head-on.”
