farragutpress

Gritty Admirals storm back for state crown

May 27, 2026 by Jake Nichols

MURFREESBORO — They say two things in life are inevitable: death and taxes.

At this point, the Farragut baseball program might as well be added to that list.

It would only be right after the festivities last Friday, May 22, as the Admirals overcame two three-run deficits, a six-hour delay and even a change of venue to beat Houston 11-5 in the 2026 Class 4A championship at Siegel High School.

The victory gave the Admirals five straight state titles with 15 in their rich program history.

“It’s awesome,” said senior pitcher Travis Brummitt Jr., tears streaming down his face. “When Farragut comes to the state tournament, we just win. It’s weird. No matter what, we win.“

Last Friday morning, though, things weren’t quite that simple when the Ads trailed Houston 3-0 in the top of the first inning at Oakland High School.

Vanderbilt signee Collin Bland led off with a tone-setting single that sizzled into centerfield, then he and two other Mustangs scored in a flurry.

Undeterred, Farragut drew two walks in its first three at-bats before Brummitt knocked an RBI single. Two batters later, Mason Shelton smoked an RBI single of his own to make it 3-2, giving Brummitt a boost as he trotted out to the mound.

“I think it was really the bottom of the first inning, and I gave up three,” Brummitt reflected later. “But when we scored two and had good at-bats, that kept my confidence going. If I wasn’t here last year, I probably wouldn’t understand it. But I saw (Cole) Draper give up two in the first, so I knew it would happen. Just had to stay the course and stay confident.”

Little did he know how long that confidence would have to remain, though.

A drizzling rain soon turned into a downpour, leading officials to announce that the game would resume at 4 p.m. CT.

Hours later, the game was moved to Siegel High School since water had pooled in the grass at Oakland.

The long delay allowed time for “rest and regrouping,” as head coach Garrett Copeland called it. So even when Houston picked up where it left off and Bland launched a two-run shot for a 5-2 lead, it didn’t matter to a Farragut team that was ready to respond.

Neyland Williams nailed a two-out RBI single to score Matthew Mitchell, who pinch-ran after a one-out double from Jake Harris. Brummitt drew a walk to bring up Zain Kureshi-Smith, who hit an RBI double to right. Finally, Shelton kept the momentum going with a two-RBI single, flipping Farragut to a 6-5 advantage. He finished 2-for-4 on the day with 4 RBI.

“That’s just the grit of this squad, and we’ve done it all year,” Harris said. “We’ve had to come from behind, and we’ve lost leads and had to come back and take it back, but it just shows the hard work our guys put in. We’re never out of a ballgame no matter what the score, and that’s our mindset with whatever it is. We’re ready to go.”

That approach continued as Farragut kept the pressure on in the bottom of the fourth. Braxton Tye hit a two-out single to score Cole Creasman for a 7-5 lead, then two different Houston pitchers combined for four straight RBI walks to mark the final margin.

Meanwhile, Brummitt stayed locked in, fueled by the two In-N-Out burgers he had inhaled during the delay.

Aside from intentionally walking Bland during his next two at-bats, Brummitt induced a mix of groundouts, line-outs and strikeouts the rest of the game.

At 7:47 p.m. CT, Houston’s Isaiah Ludlow hit a grounder to Creasman, who dropped to one knee to retrieve it. He calmly stood and threw the ball to Caleb Van Lant for the final out, bringing bedlam across the field.

The entire team raced toward Brummitt and Harris, who bear-hugged in front of the mound. Then, one by one, players leaped on top of the pile with Brummitt buried at the bottom.

“It was nice until I thought I was dying from everyone on top of me,” he cracked. “I was kind of scared it would get pushed to tomorrow because I would’ve been burned.

“I wouldn’t have been able to throw since I had thrown 29 pitches over at Oakland, and the limit was 25. But I guess the baseball gods wanted me to throw.”

Offensively, the Ads didn’t need help from any sport deities. Rather, they stayed composed and responded for a reward like no other.

“Our guys have always had great discipline in the strike zone, mature at-bats,” Copeland said.

“I think it’s just playing clean,” added Harris, “and knowing that they’re going to scratch a few. But we’re going to scratch a lot more.”