Tullahoma Wildcat senior Ben Quick tossed six shutout innings and classmate JD Schmisseur earned the save in the seventh to lead the Cats to a 3-0 win over Franklin County at the Gamble Sports Complex in Winchester on Tuesday in a game broadcast on 93.9 The Duck.
Tullahoma will complete its home regular season with Senior Night on Friday, when Community High School visits Wilkins Stadium on 93.9 The Duck. The season finale is Monday night at Sequatchie County.
The win completed a Tullahoma sweep of District 12-3A rival Winchester, with the Cats prevailing 7-3 on Monday at Grider Stadium. The teams entered the series tied for second place in the district. Tullahoma will be the No. 2 seed and the Rebels No. 3 in the upcoming district tournament. Lawrence County is No. 1, Giles County is No. 4, and Marshall County is No. 5.
Quick wasn’t at his best, but he got stronger as the game progressed and struck out the final three batters he faced. In six innings, he allowed six hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. Schmisseur earned his first save, keeping the shutout intact.
The Wildcats (14-12) broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Nate Wilkerson led off with a single, stole second, and scored on Quick’s single. Phillip Lemmon hit a one-out single in the sixth, and Quick drove him home. Schmisseur led off the seventh with a double, and Brycen Campbell drove home the final THS run.
Senior Lukas Taylor started on the mound for the Wildcats on Monday and gave up two first-inning runs, due primarily to four base-on-balls. Taylor settled down but threw a lot of pitches, and Xander Pogue replaced him in the fourth inning. The Rebels scored in the seventh on a Tullahoma error, but Pogue earned the victory as the Cats came back to win.
With two outs in the fourth inning, Quick and Pogue singled, Schmisseur walked to load the bases, and Price Harden walked to drive in a run. Campbell slammed a two-run double, clearing the bases, and Aidden Evans followed with a run-scoring single.
