How Siegel baseball's 2024 squad has similarities to 2016 state title winner
Siegel baseball coach Craig Reavis didn't hesitate when asked where the 2024 Stars ranked as the youngest he has coached at the school.
The team he compared it to was a pretty good one.
"The year we won it," said Reavis, referring to the 2016 team that captured the TSSAA Class AAA state championship, the lone title in program history. "We played a lot of sophomores. (Drew) Benefield, (Zac) Pearson, (John Ross) Langworthy . . . and others. It was a good split between seniors and sophomores."
Siegel's 2024 team also has a good split of veterans and a talented sophomore class.
And like the 2016 team, this year's is headed to the state baseball tournament. Siegel defeated Cleveland 5-4 in eight innings, sweeping the best-of-three Class 4A sectional series to earn the state berth. It's the Stars' third trip to state since the 2016 title and first since 2021.
Siegel (32-12) will play Clarksville (39-8) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Siegel in the first round of state during the annual Spring Fling.
"This feels great," said sophomore shortstop Trey Baker, who drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth with an RBI single. "I know I haven't been here (varsity) long, but I know it's a big accomplishment. I feel really good about it."
Siegel baseball's future is now
Siegel senior Will Horn, who had arguably the biggest hit of the game when he belted a solo homer in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 4, knows the team wouldn't be where it is without the talent of the younger players.
"(Sophomores) have been amazing for us this year," Horn said. "They've been fielding well, they're hitting well for us. We encourage them to keep swinging. Even if they make a mistake, they're fine. They've really stepped up and helped us five seniors."
Baker, the No. 3 hitter, is one of four sophomores who were in the starting lineup Friday. Leadoff hitter and outfielder Drew Hostetler, catcher and No. 6 hitter Tristan Thornton, and outfielder and No. 7 hitter Ryan Russell were the other three.
Hostetler is second on the team in hitting at .336 and leads it in triples (eight) and runs (38). Thornton is hitting .274 with 19 RBIs and Russell is hitting .289 with seven extra-base hits. Colton Baron, the team's ace (1.63 ERA) whose year ended when he suffered an injury just before the postseason, is also a sophomore, as is reliever Lawson Lee, who tossed 2.2 innings of relief Friday.
"At the beginning of the season we didn't think we would go very far," Baker said. The Stars had lost four of their first five games. "We started making plays we should make and came together. Now we're competing for state."
The team might not have its top hitter and senior leader. Outfielder Layne Akers, who was 1-for-1 Friday, injured his shoulder sliding into third on what was his second steal of the first inning and left the game. The MTSU signee is hitting .353 with a team-leading 17 doubles and 29 RBIs.
"We'll see," Reavis said of Akers' status heading into state. "He's a strong kid, so we're hoping that nothing is tore. You just don't know."
MORE: How Eagleville baseball became a TSSAA state power in Class 1A. Just check their group chat
Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@dnj.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: TSSAA baseball playoffs: Siegel on to state after beating Cleveland
