The Cornersville Bulldogs' precedent setting playoff run will culminate in a trip to Murfreesboro after CHS qualified for the Class A State baseball tournament for the first time ever by defeating county rival Forrest 4-1 in Chapel Hill on Saturday night in the Sectional round of the playoffs.

Aided by a stellar pitching performance from sophomore hurler David Looney, the Bulldogs (19-14) seized the momentum early and built a 3-0 lead through the first three and a half innings of play.

The Rockets (23-14) tallied a run in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the gap to 3-1, but Looney held Forrest scoreless the rest of the way while Cornersville tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning to punch their ticket to the Spring Fling.

'Year of firsts'

"It's been a year of firsts. I'm proud of these guys because they have come a long way and have battled. We're just going to try and enjoy the ride," said CHS coach Ben Putman. "This is the first game in a while where we did not have to come from behind so that was nice. It was a comfort to take the lead early and we played looser after that."

With Saturday's win, the Bulldogs became the third different Cornersville sports program to reach the State tournament over the past five years.

"This is big. It's my senior year and it doesn't get any better than this," said Bulldog catcher Cody Blackburn. "We just kept pushing and never got down. Ever since the Columbia Academy game when we were down 12-5, we didn't get down on ourselves and kept pushing. I love my team because nobody is going to quit. Now we just have to finish it."

Bright future

Although Forrest fell one win short of reaching the State tournament, the Rockets lose only one starter from this year's team and appear to have a bright future under first-year coach Chris Parker.

"It was not a bad year, but I would like to have won a few more games, five more to be specific. We are going to miss Zach (Horvath), but fortunately we bring everyone else back," said Parker. "Cornersville has an outstanding ballclub and Looney threw an outstanding game. Everybody is good when you get this far and that is one good ball team."

Having competed against many of the Rocket players since childhood, Looney used that familiarity to his advantage on Saturday night, as he racked up 10 strikeouts in seven innings of work while limiting Forrest to five hits and two walks en route to earning his eighth victory of the season.

"It feels really, really great. I have played against these guys since I was five years old and now I get to pitch against them to go to state," said Looney. "I was controlling my breaking ball pretty good, but my defense made plays behind me and that is what kept us in the ballgame."

Stat leaders

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, finished with nine hits and three walks against two Rocket pitchers. Tate Lowery led Cornersville's offensive attack by going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and two runs scored. Matt Callender tallied two hits for CHS as well, while Blackburn (1 RBI), Neil Davis (1 RBI), Jody Sullivan, and Looney each notched one hit.

Forrest starting pitcher Logan Hollingsworth suffered the loss after yielding three runs over six innings on six hits and three walks. Horvath came on in relief of Hollingsworth and gave up one run in one inning on two hits.

Landon Jones paced the Rockets at the plate by going 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI, while Alex Brewer, Horvath, and Hollingsworth added one hit apiece.

The Bulldogs grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Lowery raced home on a RBI double by Blackburn after legging out an infield single and advancing to second on the play thanks to a Rocket throwing error.

Tie try stopped

Forrest had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the first when Jacob Daughrity drew a walk and stole second with two outs, but Blackburn threw out Daughrity at third on a stolen base attempt to end the inning.

After leaving the bases loaded in the top of the second, Cornersville stranded a man in scoring position in the third inning before Blackburn picked off a FHS base runner at second in the bottom half of the frame to snuff out another Rocket scoring threat.

In the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs opened up some breathing room by pushing across two runs in the frame to stretch their lead to 3-0. Jacob Griffis drew a walk to lead off the inning before advancing to second on a Sullivan sacrifice bunt. After pinch runner J.D. Crabtree advanced to third on a passed ball, Looney drew a walk. Courtesy runner Nate Huitt then stole second before Lowery slapped a two-run single into centerfield with two outs.

The Rockets got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Brewer scored on a RBI single by Jones to cut the deficit to 3-1 after reaching base on a leadoff single and advancing to third on a Cornersville throwing error.

Grand finale

Forrest left a man at second in each of the next two innings before CHS plated a run in the top of the seventh to stretch their lead to 4-1. After leading off the inning with a bloop single, Lowery advanced to second on a passed ball, before Davis belted a RBI double to deep centerfield.

Looney then retired the Rockets in order in the bottom of the seventh inning to set off a wild celebration by the Bulldogs and their fans.