Will Tobin didn’t waste his first opportunity on the mound in more than a year for Independence High School. The senior tossed nine strike-outs, allowed one hit and walked one in five innings of work to lead the Eagles to a season-opening 10-0 shutout at Nolensville on Monday. “It’s just a blessing to get out there and play after missing a whole season,” said Tobin, who added a deep solo homer into the wind over the right field wall in the 6th inning. “I’m thankful to even be able to play let alone get the win in our first night back. “It’s great to be out here with these guys again. They’re all my best friends and I think we have a close-knit group ready for more.” The Eagles played just two games last season – more than many – before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the rest of the season and all of spring sports. Independence had reached the state tournament in 2019 and was eyeing a return. Besides intrasquad scrimmages, Monday was the first game against an opposing team other than each other dating back to March 11, 2020 for the Eagles. Indy coach Mike McLaury admitted he didn’t know what to expect from his team playing against outside competition. “We have a long way to go with plenty to improve on, but like I told the kids, we just don’t want to waste a day and we’ll move forward one game at a time,” McLaury said. “These guys have been eager to get back out here since the second week of school. I was glad to see us go out there and battle.” The Eagles pressured Nolensville starter Ethan McElvain early with back-to-back hits to open the game. Jack Baughman, who went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs, drove in Ty Allen with a line drive to right on the second at-bat. McElvain recovered with a quick strike-out and the Knights closed the top of the first with a double play. McElvain, a Vanderbilt commitment, threw 54 pitches in two-plus innings with five strikeouts. He gave up three hits, two walks and one earned run as Indy battled. “I thought they had some great at-bats and Ethan is obviously a high-level pitcher and his stuff was good, but you have to credit those guys for fouling balls off and finding the barrel on some of those,” Nolensville coach Zach Hudson said. Deakin Wimmer came in relief and closed the third inning with back-to-back Ks before getting saddled with five runs in the top of the fourth by an Eagles barrage at the plate. Logan Money doubled to left to trigger the spurt, driving in Creed McClellan for a 2-0 lead. Derek Boylan scored on a sacrifice fly from Ty Allen next and the Eagles tacked on two singles and a double to jump in front 6-0 before Wimmer closed the top of the inning. Tobin gave up a walk to open the bottom of the fourth and Jackson Hill followed with a line drive single for Nolensville, but back-to-back strikeouts and a fielder’s choice ended the threat. “Tobin did a great job of keeping us off-balance and pitching on both sides of the plate,” Hudson said. The senior left-hander said he used his fastball mostly. “It was hailing for me a lot,” said Tobin, a Pennsylvania commit. “I get a lot of movement on it so it was working well, and my curve ball was sitting real nice. “I just decided to stick with what was working and kept working.” “Will does what a No. 1 pitcher should do and that’s shut their nine guys out,” McLaury added. “Credit to Will for having a great night.” The Knights managed just two hits all game. Indy belted out a dozen and used a pair of errors from the home team as well, including Allen’s run on a mishandled ball at third base to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead in the fifth with two outs. Tobin homered to open the sixth and Money plated Jack Riggs with a grounder to first. Jacob Almon picked up the final two outs of the sixth with two Ks on eight quick pitches and Baughman smacked his second double of the game to kick off the seventh, later scoring on a two-out single from Aiden Justice. Tobin said his team has lofty goals, but after enduring the disappointment of a canceled season, they are taking this year “day-by-day.” “You really have to – last year helped us realize that,” he said. “Nothing is guaranteed so we are approaching every game by itself and will just try to go hard each night because it could be the last game we play.” The senior credited youngsters Nolan Turner and Almon – who both came in relief – for their hard work in preparation and keeping Nolensville’s bats quiet. “I just think we have a lot of guys that are putting in the work behind the scenes and it showed tonight even though it was our first game,” he said. “We had to shake the rust off a bit, but it just felt like second nature when we got back out there.” Nolensville heads to Independence Tuesday night for the second game of the home-and-away series. “Obviously it’s been over a year for us, too, but this is a day that has been circled for a long, long time,” Hudson said. “It felt good to play against another team, and yeah, we wanted a different result, but the great thing is we have a tomorrow and hopefully can play better.”
IHS 100 512 1 – 10 12 0
NHS 000 000 0 – 0 2 2
Will Tobin, Nolan Turner (5th), Jacob Almon (6th), Judah Hernandez (7th) and Aiden Justice. Ethan McElvain, Deakin Wimmer (3rd), Drew Estes (5th), Brayden Rose (6th), Caleb Kacsmar (7th) and Grayson Rains. WP – Tobin. LP – McElvain.
IHS – Ty Allen 1-3, Jack Baughman 4-4, Hollingsworth 1-3, Logan Molnar 1-5, Tobin 1-4, Justice 2-5, Creed McClellan 1-2, Derek Boylan 0-1, Cooper Hargrove 0-3, Logan Money 2-3.
NHS – Ethan Syling 0-3, Ethan McElvain 0-1, Jackson Hill 1-3, Tyler Hummel 0-2, Bryan Cluck 0-2, Grayson Rains 0-1, Quentin Jenkins 0-3, Jack Riggs 1-3, Landon Dismang 0-2, Eric Harper 0-2.
2B – Baughman 2, Hollingsworth, Money. HR – Tobin. RBI – Baughman 2, Allen, Hollingsworth, Molnar, Tobin, Justice, Money 2. SB – McClellan. LOB – IHS 13, NHS 7.
Source: Williamson Herald
Mary Vowell Softball Classic
There is one thing all 21 teams, including five from Williamson County, participating in the Mary Vowell Softball Classic at Fly Park Friday and Saturday will have in common. They may well play more games as a team in 48 hours than they did in the entire 2020 season. Softball, baseball and all other spring high school sports were canceled for the year within the first two weeks of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, costing hundreds of senior year athletes their final competitions. It also fueled a white-hot fire amongst players and coaches to get started again, according to Centennial High School softball coach Jeff Serbin, whose team is hosting the first tourney of the season. “To be able to play games is so important – that’s all I’ve heard from coaches,” he said. “Let’s just play. ‘I may not have this or that, I just want to play’. And I know the girls feel that way.” And play they will, with 30 pool-play games scheduled across six fields Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday morning before the field is bracketed for single-elimination. The championship game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Saturday night. The field is loaded, with Brentwood, Fairview, Franklin, Independence and Summit carrying the WillCo banner against some of the traditionally best teams in the mid-state. Creek Wood returns to defend the tourney title from 2019 and is joined by Dickson County, a team some consider to the be the top Class AAA team in the state. Perennial powers Columbia Academy, Eagleville, Moore County, Waverley and Wilson Central are among the early potential favorites. Lest the effects of the pandemic be forgotten, a strong Cheatham County has withdrawn from the tournament due to COVID-19 issues. The event is the largest fundraiser for the Centennial softball team, a group that will work the tourney rather than play. It also honors former four-year starter Mary Vowell, who graduated in 2010 before tragically losing her life in an auto accident in 2017. “This tournament is special due to the fact that it is for Mary and her family,” Serbin said. “I’ve heard stories from former players and teachers about how special she was a person and as a softball player. I’m just glad that in some way, we can help keep her memory alive.” Extra games are scheduled for Thursday beginning at 3 p.m., with pool play starting Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Admission each day is $8.
Friday
Field No. 1
3 p.m. – Waverly vs. Brentwood
4:30 p.m. – Wilson Central vs. Brentwood
6 p.m. – Moore County vs. Waverly
7:30 p.m. – Wilson Central vs. Waverly
9 p.m. – Moore County vs. Wilson Central
Field No. 2
3 p.m. – Franklin vs. Mt. Juliet
4:30 p.m. – Franklin vs. Coffee County
6 p.m. – Clarksville NW vs. Mt. Juliet
7:30 p.m. – Coffee County vs. Clarksville NW
9 p.m. – Mt. Juliet vs. Coffee County
Field No. 3
4 p.m. – Gallatin vs. Dickson County
5:30 p.m. – Gallatin vs. Murfreesboro Central
7 p.m. – Gallatin vs. LaVergne
8:30 p.m. – Dickson County vs. LaVergne
Field No. 4
5:30 p.m. – Lebanon vs. Fairview
7 p.m. – Dickson County vs. Lebanon
8:30 p.m. – Murfreesboro Central vs. Fairview
Field No. 5
4 p.m. – Creek Wood vs. Summit
5:30 p.m. – Creek Wood vs. Green Hill
7 p.m. – Smyrna vs. Summit
8:30 p.m. – Smyrna vs. Green Hill
Field No. 6
4:30 p.m. – Independence vs. Eagleville
6 p.m. – Eagleville vs. Columbia Academy
7:30 p.m. – Independence vs. Columbia Academy
Source: Williamson Herald
