Oak Ridge Today

Wildcats win district championship

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Oak Ridge freshman John Belbeck (22) tries to evade Halls players during a 10-2 district championship win at home on Friday, May 13, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:30 p.m. May 14.

Oak Ridge won the District 3-AAA championship with a 10-2 victory over Halls at home on Friday.

The Wildcats (13-7) advance to play the loser of Saturday’s District 4-AAA championship game between Bearden and Maryville. The District 4 runner-up will come to Oak Ridge to play in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game on Tuesday.

The Red Devils (10-7), the District 3 runner-up, advance to play the winner of the Bearden-Maryville District 4 championship game.

It was the second time Oak Ridge played Halls this year, and the win was more lopsided this time. The Wildcats, who finished the season undefeated in the district with a 7-0 record, won the first game against the Red Devils, a regular season game, 4-1 on April 7.

“I think we’re a different team now,” Oak Ridge Coach Jeff Trombly said.

Halls finished the regular season second in the district with a 6-2 record. [Read more…]

Updated: Oak Ridge falls in no-hitter by Powell’s Alford, then loses to Gibbs

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Powell Alford Oak Ridge May 6 2016

Powell pitcher Peyton Alford strikes out the side in the top of the first inning during a 3-0 no-hitter win over Oak Ridge in the District 3-AAA tournament opener at Gibbs on Friday, May 6, 2016.

 

Note: This story was updated at 10 p.m. May 21.

GIBBS—Oak Ridge baseball head coach Mark Garrison had to give credit where credit was due.

The Wildcats fell victim to a dominating pitching performance by Powell’s Peyton Alford, who struck out 14 Oak Ridge batters and finished the game with a no-hitter in the Panthers’ 3-0 victory on Friday.

“He’s always good and I think that he was extra good today,” Garrison said. “He had a lot of days of rest, about five or six days. We did everything we could do. (Oak Ridge senior) Spencer Wilson did a great job even though he scattered 10 hits. We played great defense, and he kept us in the game. That’s what Spencer does. We just didn’t have an answer for Alford. He was very, very good.”

It was the District 3-AAA tournament opener, played at Gibbs High School.

Aside from an error, the Wildcats did in fact play solid defense and the pitching of Wilson—who recently tied the school’s record for most wins in a season—prevented Powell from taking a substantial lead. [Read more…]

Baseball photos: Oak Ridge vs. Campbell County on Senior Night, II

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Five seniors on the Oak Ridge Wildcats baseball team are pictured above during a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at home on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge senior Spencer Wilson tied the season record for most wins by a pitcher on Wednesday, when he picked up his eighth win in a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at home. Here are photos from the game. It was Senior Night, and the last home game of the regular season.

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Oak Ridge senior John Foster (17) looks for a steal to third base during a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at home on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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Three more seniors on the Oak Ridge Wildcats baseball team are pictured above during a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at home on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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Baseball photos: Oak Ridge vs. Campbell County on Senior Night, I

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Oak Ridge senior Bryson Armes (30) tags out Nate Stevens (11) of Campbell County during a 12-2 rout of the Cougars at home on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge senior Spencer Wilson tied the season record for most wins by a pitcher on Wednesday, when he picked up his eighth win in a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at home. Here are photos from the game. It was Senior Night, and the last home game of the regular season.

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Oak Ridge sophomore Ian Campbell (24) expresses his frustration after popping up for an out during a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at home on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The ball was caught by Cougars first baseman Jared Ray (15), who is pictured in left foreground. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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On first base, Oak Ridge senior Trey Davis (14) gets instructions from Assistant Coach Kevin Lee during a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at home on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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Wilson ties season record for pitching wins

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Oak Ridge senior Spencer Wilson (11) tied the season record for most pitching wins, 8, during a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at home on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge senior Spencer Wilson tied the season record for most wins by a pitcher on Wednesday.

Wilson picked up his eighth win in a 12-2 rout of Campbell County at Bobby Hopkins Park in Oak Ridge.

Wilson has a chance to break the 23-year-old record in the post-season, possibly as early as Friday. The record that he tied dates back to 1993, and it was set by Joe Fellers.

“That record means a lot to me,” Wilson said Saturday.

The Wildcats had a list of records posted during the pre-season, when they were training and weight lifting, and Wilson said he could tell the record for pitching wins was an old one.

“I’m going to target that one,” he decided. [Read more…]

Baseball photos: Oak Ridge beats Karns, top district team; Senior Night tonight

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The Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Karns Beavers, the number one team in the district, at home 4-3 in 11 innings on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Pictured above is pitcher Spencer Wilson, who pitched the last nine innings. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:30 a.m.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats took down Karns, the top team in District 3-AAA, at home in 11 innings on Tuesday, April 19. Here are pictures from the game.

The Wildcats (14-14, 5-9 District 3-AAA) play at home tonight against Campbell County (2-24, 0-13). It’s Senior Night and the last district game of the season. Events start at 5 p.m.

“Pack the stands and rock the house to send off 2016’s Senior Wildcats as district play comes to an end,” the team said.

We’ll add more information to this story as we can. In the meantime, you can see baseball game highlights on the ORHS Baseball Twitter feed here.

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Oak Ridge Coach Mark Garrison is pictured at right above with Spencer Wilson and Ian Campbell of the Wildcats during a 4-3 win over Karns at home in 11 innings on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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Rodriguez scores four as Wildcats dominate Anderson County

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Wildcats Jose Rodriguez against Anderson County April 14, 2016

Oak Ridge senior forward Jose Rodriguez (11) scored four goals for the Wildcats during a 5-0 win over Anderson County at home on Thursday, April 14, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge senior forward Jose Rodriguez scored four goals during a 5-0 win over Anderson County on Thursday, and the Wildcats dominated the Mavericks in total shots, 40-1.

Some of those shots went wide right or left, though, or high, and not all were on the goal frame. Rodriguez was credited with 14 shots, including four in the first 11 minutes, and he scored two goals in the first four minutes of the second half.

Oak Ridge Coach Jeff Trombly said he was pleased overall, but the Wildcats (8-5, 6-0 District 3-AAA) failed to finish too many of their scoring chances. Too many shots were at the Anderson County goalkeepers, Trombly said. That’s a sign that players are getting anxious in front of the net and need to look at their shots, he said.

“We’ve got to clean up our finishing,” Trombly said. “We created enough chances, but you’ve got to finish your chances.” [Read more…]

Wildcats have 5 first-place finishes in Ben Martin meet; compete in Battle of Bridge today

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Oak Ridge senior Tyler Boullie finished first in the boys 800-meter run at the Ben Martin Invitational at Oak Ridge High School on Saturday, April 2, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats had five first-place finishes in the Ben Martin Invitational track and field meet at Oak Ridge High School on Saturday, and the team will compete against Hardin Valley at home in the Battle of the Bridge today (Tuesday, April 5).

Those who picked up first-place finishes on Saturday at Ben Martin Track were:

  • freshman Jada Guinn in the girls high jump, with a height of 4’10”;
  • sophomore Brigid Bishop in the girls pole vault, with a height of 7’6″;
  • senior Tyler Boullie in the boys 800-meter run, with a time of 1:57.60;
  • the boys 4×100-meter relay team (Jordan Graham, Tony Miller, Tre Jackson, and Caleb Downard), with a time of 44.89; and
  • the boys distance medley (Boullie, Jacob Etheridge, Jose Villegas, and Caleb Downard), with a time of 10:59.67.

Oak Ridge Coach Allen Etheridge said he was as pleased with the girls’ performance as he has been in several years. They competed hard and scored a ton of points, he said. [Read more…]

Photos: Oak Ridge-Union County baseball

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The Oak Ridge-Union County baseball game at home on March 26, 2016, when the Wildcats won 8-7. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Wildcats went 3-2 in the Kevin Calia Tournament at home on Friday and Saturday.

The Wildcats beat Cookeville 5-4 and Kingston 11-4 on Friday, but lost to Webb 6-4 that day. Oak Ridge defeated Union County 8-7 on Saturday afternoon, but lost to William Blount 7-5 that evening.

See more photos of the Oak Ridge-Union County game below.

The Wildcats (9-4, 3-2 District 3-AAA) were defeated 7-2 at Gibbs on Monday, and will play the Eagles (6-4, 4-3) again at home this evening (Tuesday, March 29). That game starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Baseball Complex.

The Wildcats will play at Rhea County (4-7, 2-1 District 6-AAA) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Here’s a look at the season results before the Kevin Calia Tournament: [Read more…]

Good, Day, three-pointers deny Wildcats fourth consecutive trip to state

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Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12), playing in his last game at Wildcat Arena, goes for a layup during a 73-70 overtime loss to David Crockett in a Class AAA sectional on Monday, March 7, 2016. Gee is guarded here by Pioneer Patrick Good (12), who had a game-high 29 points, including six three-pointers. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8:15 a.m.

David Crockett denied Oak Ridge a fourth consecutive trip to the state basketball tournament on Monday with 11 three-point shots, including a winning three-pointer by senior Patrick Good with 3.5 seconds left in overtime, and the 17 second-half points of senior Dustin Day.

It was the second time the two teams have met this year. Both games went into overtime and were decided on less than three points, and David Crockett won both. The first game was during the regular season, when the two teams combined to make 30 three-point shots, and the second was during a Class AAA sectional at Wildcat Arena on Monday. Good scored the winning baskets in both games.

After their 73-70 overtime win in the sectional game on Monday, the Pioneers (30-5) advance to the state tournament for the first time in the 44-year history of the program.

“They don’t get much tougher than that,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said after the three-point overtime loss.
[Read more…]

Led by Gee, Wildcats win Region 2 championship; Bush named MVP

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Oak Ridge senior point guard Geevantay Gee (12) led the Wildcats with a game-high 15 points, including three three-point shots, during a 70-40 win over Karns in the Region 2-AAA championship on Thursday, March 3, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 5:15 p.m.

Continuing a string of successes on the basketball court, the Oak Ridge Wildcats won the Region 2 championship in a 70-40 victory over Karns on Thursday. The boys’ regional win at home came one day after the girls won a Region 2 championship at Bearden.

This year, the two teams both won the District 3-AAA championships and the Region 2-AAA championships. It’s the first time that’s happened since 2008.

The Wildcats (34-2), the Region 2 champion, now move on to play David Crockett, the Region 1 runner-up, in a Class AAA sectional game on Monday. The winner advances to the state tournament. David Crockett (29-5) is one of only two teams that beat Oak Ridge this year.

“They are one of the better teams we’ve played all year,” Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said. “It’s going to be a tough game. It should be a tremendous basketball game. There’s a lot on the line.”

The Pioneers eked out a two-point 89-87 win over the Wildcats on two free throws in double overtime in the Arby’s Classic on December 29. [Read more…]

Powell gets more rebounds, but Wildcats get the win, going to Region 2 championship

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Powell had nine more rebounds than Oak Ridge and Coach Aaron Green wasn’t pleased with the defense, but the Wildcats battled to beat the Panthers for the fourth time this season, this time during a Region 2-AAA semifinal game at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Pictured above are Oak Ridge junior Tajion Jones (3) and Powell senior Conley Hamilton (34). (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Powell had more rebounds and Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green wasn’t pleased with the defense, but the Wildcats prevailed over the Panthers in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game with help from the 32 points of juniors E.J. Bush and Tee Higgins.

The 53-48 win in a playoff elimination game at Wildcat Arena on Tuesday sends Oak Ridge (33-2) to the Region 2-AAA championship game on Thursday. Oak Ridge will face Karns (22-7) for the fourth time this season. The Wildcats have won the previous three contests.

Tuesday’s game was the fourth time that Oak Ridge battled Powell (22-11) this season. The Wildcats won all four matches, a difficult feat, Green said. Two of the wins were in the regular season, one was in the District 3-AAA tournament, and the last was in the Region 2-AAA tournament on Tuesday.

It’s hard to beat a team four straight times, Green said. The Tuesday night game was the closest of the four this year.

“I told the guys the last two days this is going to be a dog fight,” Green said. “This is the toughest game of the year.” [Read more…]