Resilient Ads storm back to state
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Farragut’s Cole Creasman (38) throws toward first for a put-out during Game 2 of the Admirals’ Class 4A sectional series with Science Hill - Jake Nichols
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Farragut’s Mason Shelton (4) celebrates during Game 2 of the Admirals’ Class 4A sectional series against Science Hill on Thursday, May 14, at TVA Credit Union Ballpark in Johnson City. - Jake Nichols
In each of his two seasons as the Farragut baseball head coach, Garrett Copeland has opened the year the same way: with a harsh dose of reality.
“I tell the guys this program has had a lot of success, but this year’s team has done nothing,” Copeland said. “We don’t have last year’s state title, so they carry that chip and want to prove they’re just as capable as the group before.”
The 2026 Farragut Admirals will have a chance to do just that, as their quest for a fifth-straight Class 4A state championship will continue after a slugfest sectional matchup with Science Hill.
In Game 1, the Ads scored three runs in the sixth inning to pull off a 5-4 comeback win at TVA Credit Union Ballpark in Johnson City. They lost the second game 6-5 the next day in an 11-inning affair, only to respond with another comeback — this one a 5-2 deficit that flipped to a 7-5 FHS win, locking up the 25th state tournament appearance in program history.
“Our guys, they’re resilient for sure,” Copeland said. “They are confident in their abilities, and they never really feel like they’re out of the game. Things were definitely not going our way in the beginning.
“But I think they have confidence because they stay the course and keep working, and they never get down on themselves or feel like they’re out of it. That’s a testament to our leadership on the team and the expectations the guys have for themselves.”
In the rubber match, the Hilltoppers took 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, only for Zain Kureshi-Smith to knock a game-tying two-RBI single half an inning later.
SHHS responded with three more runs in the bottom of the third, extending their lead to 5-2, and it remained that way until Mason Shelton belted a two-RBI double in the top of the fifth to bring the Ads within one.
They added two more runs in the sixth on a sac fly from Travis Brummitt Jr. and an RBI groundout from Kureshi-Smith, then Aidan Flagg knocked an RBI single in the top of the seventh to mark the final margin.
While FHS stormed back at the plate, Brummitt settled in on the mound. He hit his stride in the bottom of the sixth to retire the side then allowed two runners to reach in the seventh before a celebration-inducing strikeout.
“Travis, he’s been our guy all year. It was a tough
performance. Things hadn’t quite gone the way we had hoped early, and he wasn’t missing the zone a ton. They were just hitting balls where we weren’t. But even when it got to 5-2, with the offense we have, that’s not out of reach. So they kept us in the game; and from the third inning on, he was lights-out. He really got after it.”
This week, the Ads (32-10) took on Collierville (35-10-1) in the opening round of the state tournament at Oakland High School.
The game took place after press time on Tuesday, May 19. But if the Ads need any sort of motivation, they can look back to their celebration last week and their meeting at the start of their season.
“That’s the reason we work so hard is for the chance at a state title,” Copeland said. “That’s what the cultural expectation of our program is, and it’s a good feeling to have a chance to play in the state tournament. It made a long bus ride a lot easier.”
