How Columbia Academy baseball won first TSSAA championship in six seasons

MURFREESBORO – It was worth the wait for the Columbia Academy baseball program.

After six years without a TSSAA baseball state tournament appearance, the Bulldogs returned to Murfreesboro this year and went undefeated, beating Providence Academy 9-4 in the Division II-A baseball championship game at Middle Tennessee State's Reese Smith Jr. FIeld. It marked the program's third state title, winning in 1994, 2018 and this season.

“You never know when you're going to get back," Columbia Academy coach Richie Estep said. "I mean, there's not many people (that) get this moment, there's not many people in the stands that can say that they won the last game.

"So to be able to say that is always special. I've been blessed with guys that just believe in what we do ... And that's what I'm super proud about with this bunch.”

The Bulldogs finished the season 37-6.

Columbia Academy won with strong performances at the plate from Knox Love and Briar Helton, who each finished with a double.

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“I mean, it's surreal," junior Jackson Lee said. "I mean, this is what you dream of when you're growing up. It's just surreal, it doesn't even feel real … there's nothing that compares.”

Lee was a part of a strong Bulldogs pitching rotation that allowed just seven runs during the tournament. Along with Lee, Columbia Academy saw Gunner Skelton, Will Rhodes and Jacob Woodard all take the mound and combine for 18 strikeouts across three games.

Aiding the diverse bullpen this season was Alex Huey, a Columbia Academy graduate who returned to join Estep’s staff as pitching coach this season. Huey was a member of Columbia Academy’s 2018 state title winning team and has now secured a second championship ring as a coach.

“I'll tell you one thing, it doesn't get old. And it won't get old. I'll crave this feeling every single year," Huey said. "And I want to be back here every single year, because of this feeling right here that we're getting to experience. And so I'm not going to stop, I'm not going to stop.”

The Bulldogs path to Murfreesboro wasn’t always an easy one. Last season Columbia Academy was knocked out of the TSSAA playoffs in the district tournament, leaving a sour taste in every player’s mouth.

This postseason the Bulldogs suffered a loss in the regional tournament to Clarksville Academy, but they came back stronger and defeated Clarksville Academy just two games later and didn't lose again the rest of the season.

“(I’ll remember) our grit, we didn't back down," senior Andy Reed said. "We're small and we don't pass the eye check, but we have toughness and we're going to beat anybody on the field.”

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A Columbia Academy graduate himself, Estep said one of the reasons he made the move from Goodpasture, where he won four state titles, was to help rebuild his alma mater and get them to this stage consistently.

“We've been doing it now for the past 10 years, since we've been back, just to try to get them over the hump," Estep said. "That was one of the reasons I came back because I wanted to try to get them past this point, past the region. They're getting to that point now.

"I feel like my experience could take them and get them to believe this could happen, because a lot of its belief. It's not about talent or whatever. It's about belief and that's super, super special.”

The Bulldogs hope this is the start of a new chapter for Columbia Academy baseball, one where trips to the state tournament in May become a regular occurrence.

“It's awesome, I mean, this feeling is unreal," Reed said. "You've never felt this feeling before."

Harrison Campbell covers high school sports and more for The Daily Herald. Email him at hcampbell@gannett.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: TSSAA baseball state tournament: Columbia Academy wins DII-A title