Raiders play East Robertson today for the Class A State Championship

You’ve heard of rally caps but rally hair? The Raider baseball team and even some coaches went blonde for their first state tournament run. (Photo Courtesy of Jeff Reed Photography)

LOCAL SPORTS NEWS | Murfreesboro — East Robertson has hardly used their hot shot pitcher all post season. Peyton Smith, a senior and Vanderbilt signee, has only pitched one game this post season. In an interview with Main Street Preps, Indian Head Coach Derek Wix stated that he’d use Smith “at some point” and the only some point left is today’s game against Moore County.

The MCHS Raiders and East Robertson Indian will play for the TSSAA Class A Baseball State Championship today at 1 p.m. at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro.

The Indians have managed without him. Their other Peyton, Peyton Clinton, nearly threw a no hitter against Summertown. The Indians haven’t allowed a single run in all three state tournament games. They beat Lake County 10-0 in their first game, beat Summertown 5-0 in their second game, and beat Summertown 1-0 on Thursday to make to the championship game.

So today’s question will be can a team with rock star pitching beat a team that’s firing on all cylinders and peaking at just the right time?

Raider Head Coach Randy Morey hopes so. He told The Times on Thursday that this is a special group of players whose individual talents have developed into a talented team. He says the Raiders will do what they’ve always done tomorrow: play loose and focus on one pitch at a time.

When we asked about what he expects from East Robertson, he says, “They are a very solid team with good players and coaching. There’s a reason we are playing them in the championship game.”

Raiders beat South Pittsburg on Thursday

The Raiders head into this championship game fresh off a quality win. Senior Raider Ryder Morey smashed a walk off homerun in the bottom of the sixth inning to deliver the 15-5 victory over the Pirates. Kyler Parker, Kaden White, Donnie Pearson, and Keller Morey led for the Raiders with two hits each. Chris Martin also smashed a homerun in he second inning.

Jacob Baker got the start and the win. He pitched five innings giving up nine hits and five runs. Hayden Cooper relieved him and earned the save. He pitched one inning allowing no hits and no runs.

Today’s game starts at 1 p.m. Those who can not attend the game can follow the action on the Game Changer app. The Lynchburg Times will also post live score updates throughout the game. And we can confirm that today’s game will be broadcast on the NFHS Network. Click here for that link. •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only daily newspaper in Lynchburg. Covering Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}