Right-hander Chris Mcelvain allowed just two hits in six scoreless innings as Summit beat Gallatin 10-0.
SPRING HILL — Summit’s offense needed a couple of innings to get rolling in Saturday’s Class AAA sectional against visiting Gallatin.
Fortunately for the Spartans, freshman right-hander Chris Mcelvain was stellar throughout, scattering just two hits in six scoreless innings while also recording a pair of extra-base hits to help lead his team to a 10-0 win and its first Class AAA state tournament appearance in the program’s brief history.
“It was mostly about me locating my fastball,” said Mcelvain, a 15-year-old Vanderbilt commitment who has been clocked at 92 mph. “I worked a couple of curve balls in there and threw one change-up, but I overpowered them mostly.”
Mcelvain (9-0) struck out eight and walked two in the shutout win — his seventh of the season — and the District 11-AAA Pitcher of the Year also went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs.
After leaving four runners stranded through their first three plate appearances, the District 11-AAA and Region 6-AAA champion Spartans broke through in the bottom of the fourth, seizing a three-run lead thanks to a pair of run-producing hits from Wade Lopiccolo and Wil Dalton.
“It doesn’t matter if its the first inning or the 10th inning, we’re going to find a way to score runs,” Mcelvain said. “We work as a team, hand the bat to the next person and that’s how you score runs.”
Summit’s Wil Dalton legs out a first-inning single.
The Spartans (33-5), winners in 16 of their past 17, added three more runs on three fifth-inning hits before run-ruling the District 9-AAA and Region 5-AAA runner-up Green Wave with a four-run sixth.
“We ran up against a fine program and a great pitcher, and we didn’t get hits when we needed to,” said second-year Gallatin coach Mark Wilson, whose squad managed a pair of fifth-inning singles of Mcelvain. “He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
The Class AAA state tournament, which starts Tuesday, will be held at both Siegel and Oakland in Murfreesboro, while Friday’s state title game will take place at MTSU’s Reese Smith Jr. Field.
In other action, Ravenwood, Siegel and Stewarts Creek all advanced to the Class AAA state tournament. The Raptors claimed a 4-3 road win over Rossview; the Stars defeated Rhea County 2-1; and Stewarts Creek knocked off Bradley Central 1-0 in the sectional.
CPA and Central Magnet reached the Class AA state field. The Lions advanced with a 6-2 victory over Sycamore, while the Tigers moved on with an 11-2 win over Sequoyah.
Goodpasture advanced in Class A with a 3-0 win over Silverdale Academy, while Gordonsville reached the state tournament with an 11-6 win over Boyd-Buchanan.
In Division II, Pope John Paul II knocked off MBA to reach the state’s final four.
Reach Michael Murphy at 615-269-8262 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports .
Gallatin’s James Rockwell fires a second-inning strike.