First and foremost, win or lose, the GCA Middle School Baseball Team will glorify God.
“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.”
Proverbs 3:6
Our team has every intention of being successful on and off the field. Our young men have a strong desire to learn and compete at the highest level. We believe that it’s not the most talented team that wins, but the team that brings all of its talents to the field. This team will strive to bring all of it’s talents to the field every day.
Our coaching staff’s primary focus is to develop our young men into men built for others. We want young men who put God first, and who will respect their parents, teachers, coaches, teammates, umpires, and opponents.
Our keys to success:
- God first – Proverbs 3:5-6
- Preparation – prepare, prepare, prepare
- Attitude – if you don’t truly believe you will fail
- Perfection – strive for it always
- "A" Game – bring it every day
Finally, we will work hard to develop fundamental baseball skills. But, we will work equally hard to instill confidence in our young men. We want a young man who hopes the ball comes his way when the game is on the line. We will have fun along the way!
In Christ,
Preston Cunningham
Head Coach
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Results and Scores |
|
2/27
3/1
3/8
3/9
3/10
3/16
3/17
3/18
3/23
3/29
|
C.A.K.
Clinton
Powell
Farragut
Bearden
Webb
Hardin Valley
Seymour
Halls
West Valley |
Win 6-0
Win 23-3
Win 5-1
Win 8-2
Win 13-3
Loss 7-5
Win 5-4
Loss 6-2
Loss 9-1
Win 6-5
|
GCA Middle School Baseball Team Roster
# |
Player |
Grade |
19 |
Bradley Andrews |
8 |
7 |
Samuel Copeland |
7 |
2 |
Preston Disney |
8 |
1 |
Tanner Fee |
7 |
22 |
Jake Hall |
7 |
13 |
Heath Hatmaker |
8 |
4 |
Tanner Hill |
8 |
18 |
Alex Jarvis |
7 |
3 |
Joshua Liford |
8 |
20 |
Justin Shaw |
6 |
11 |
Luke Shepherd |
7 |
10 |
Sully Smoak |
8 |
15 |
Justin Tiemeyer |
7 |
25 |
Caleb Walker |
8 |
Game Results
GAME 1: The Rams started the season off with a 6-0 win over Christian Academy of Knoxville. Brad Andrews pitched 4 innings of hitless ball allowing only one walk and striking out 10 to get the "W." Jake Hall hit a 3 run homer and Preston Disney went 1 for 3 with 3 rbi's. Justin Tiemeyer scored two runs while Tanner Hill, Brad Andrews, Jake Hall, and Caleb Walker all added one run a piece. Josh Liford, Luke Shepherd, Heath Hatmaker, and Brad Andrews also added a hit a piece.
GAME 2: The Rams won 23-3 over Clinton Monday evening. Brad Andrews went 4 for 4 with 4 rbi's, a double, 3 runs scored, and was hit by a pitch. Jake Hall also went 4 for 4 with a sacrifice bunt, a double, triple, and 4 rbi's, while Tanner Fee had big night as well going 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored and 2 rbi's. The Rams finished the evening with 19 hits, 8 walks, and one batter hit by a pitch all this equals 23 runs! Josh Liford pitched two solid innings with 4 k's for the win, while Caleb Walker pitched the final two innings in which he added 4 k's as well to close out the cold evening.
Game 3: The Rams moved to 3-0 with a 5-1 win over Powell Middle on March 8th. Tanner Fee came in and pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief with a strikeout for the win. Jake Hall went 2 for 2 with a single, triple, and a walk with 2 rbi's. Preston Disney also added a triple, with a walk, run, and rbi. Justin Shaw, Tanner Fee, Justin Tiemeyer, and Luke Shepherd all added runs, while Caleb Walker, Justin Shaw also added one rbi each.
GAME 4: Grace defeated Farragut 8 to 2 behind Brad Andrews three innings of work in which he only allowed 1 hit and 2 runs, while striking out 8 Admirals. Luke Shepherd led the Rams in hitting with a 2 for 2 night with a double, triple, 2 runs scored and 1 rbi. Jake Hall and Caleb Walker also added 1 rbi each while Preston Disney scored two runs along with runs by Jake Hall, Caleb Walker, Tanner Fee, and Justin Tiemeyer.
GAME 5: The Rams won 13-3 over previously unbeaten Bearden on 3/10. Tanner Fee pitched 2 innings of no-hit ball with 4 K's for his second win. Brad Andrews went 3 for 3, with a triple, 2 runs scored, and 3 rbi's. Also scoring runs were Caleb Walker (2), Luke Shepherd (2), Tanner Fee (2), while Jake Hall, Justin Tiemeyer, Preston Disney, Heath Hatmaker, and Justin Shaw all scored a run each. Josh Liford added 3 rbi's along with ribbies from Disney, Hall, Walker, Shepherd, Fee, and Hatmaker. Rams are now 5-0.
GAME 6: The Rams lost thier first game of the season Tuesday to a very good Webb team 7-5. The Rams could not overcome an early 7-1 deficit to the Spartans. The Rams only had three hits, led by Justin Tiemeyer's 2 rbi single in the 4th inning. The Rams (5-1) next play Hardin Valley Wednesday @ 7:30.
Game 7: The Rams escaped with a 5-4 win over Hardin Valley Wedneday. Luke Shepherd pitched 3 strong innings for the win with 3 strike outs and only 1 earned run allowed. Josh Liford came in and closed out the game facing two batters and struke both of them out. The bats were lead by Brad Andrews who went 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored. The Rams, now 6-1, face the Seymour Eagles (6-1-1) for first place 3/22.
Game 8: The Rams fell 6-2 last Thursday to a very good Seymour Eagles team. Brad Andrews pitched a great game going 5 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, however the Eagles, some bad luck, and key hits in the right places helped Seymour score 6 runs in the final frame. Brad was the hard luck losing pitcher allowing only 2 hits, 1 earned run, and 10 strikeouts. The Rams, now 6-2, will either face Halls in a make-up game Tuesday/Wednesday or West Valley Thursday @ 5:45.
Game 9: The Rams self-destructed last week with 4 walked batters, 2 opponents hit by pitches, and 9 committed errors as the Halls Red Devils won 9-1 over Grace. Josh Liford had the only hit and run of the night for the Rams. Brad Andrews pitched 3 good innings with 8 strikeouts and did not allow any earned runs. However, Halls did score 5 unearned runs those 3 innings and the Ram’s bats could not answer. The Rams fell to 6-3 and play West Valley next Monday.
Game 10: The Rams played much better last Monday after their worst game of the season the week prior. The Rams defeated West Valley 6-5 to finish out their regular season at 7-3. Brad Andrews and Tanner Fee hit a triple apiece, Heath Hatmaker hit a double, and the Rams won on a bases loaded walk as Tanner Fee had the game winning RBI. The Rams will begin the playoffs next week at the Knox County Sports Park--time and date are still TBA.
Game 11:Opening round game of the Knoxville Middle School Championship Tournament: The Rams played Monday, April 12th against Bearden. Brad Andrews was once again the Rams starting pitcher. Brad pitched 4 solid innings, helping the Rams to build a 5-4 lead. Josh Liford stepped in and pitched very well in relief to close out the win. The Rams' bats continued to show some improvement, and the Rams' defense was perfect. The Rams defeated Bearden 5-4 to advance to the Semi-Finals.
Game 12 - Knoxville Middle School League Semi-Finals
The Rams faced Seymour in the scheduled 7 inning semi-final on Monday April 19th. The Rams pitching was outstanding lead by 7 excellent innings thrown by Bradley Andrews. The Rams defense was perfect, highlighted by Tanner Hill throwing out a runner from center field at home plate, and a 4-6-3 double play turned by Justin Tiemeyer, Preston Disney, and Luke Shepherd.
The Rams generated enough offense to win, including an exciting 3 runs scored in the 4th inning. After 7 innings of regulation baseball the scoreboard read GCA 3 - Seymour 3. Unfortunately, the Rams lost a heartbreaker, just one out from the championship game, in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Coach Cunningham: "This team faced more adversity this year than any team I have ever coached. We lost several players for various reasons over the course of the season. We were forced to make several position changes and at times barely had enough to play. As a result we understandably experienced some apathy. However, the team really pulled together, refocused and got re-energized. We played extremely well the last several games and finished the season strong. I told the team at our final practice that I knew we would win the semi-final. I sincerely believed it to the last out. I think we played our best game of the year. Our pitching and defense was excellent. Considering the quality of our opponent’s pitching, we generated enough offense to win. It just wasn't our time. I told the players after the game, in baseball and in life, if you work hard and bring your best, more times than not you will be successful. The thing I am most proud of however is, I feel like our entire GCA Middle School Baseball Family played a season of baseball in a manner that glorifies God!
Photos
