How Gunner Skelton pitched Columbia Academy into first state tournament in six years

MURFREESBORO − Gunner Skelton isn’t your typical sophomore.

The Columbia Academy ace pitcher is already in his third season of varsity baseball, and that early experience has made the difference.

Skelton pitched all eight innings on Tuesday, striking out three batters while allowing no earned runs, as Columbia Academy defeated Providence Academy 2-1 in extra innings in the first round of the TSSAA Division II-A state tournament.

Columbia Academy will play the winner of Boyd Buchanan and Goodpasture at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday at MTCS.

“He started as an eighth grader for us and that doesn’t happen very often … It’s all guts and grit,” Columbia Academy coach Richie Estep said. “He doesn’t always look like he has the best stuff or whatever, but he will make pitches when he has to.

“There are things you don't have to teach him, he just knows how to play the game. So we're glad he's on our team.”

Skelton (10-1) has pitched 79.1 innings this season, striking out 95 batters with a 1.17 ERA.

Skelton said as early as last season he stepped into the No. 1 pitcher's role and this season he’s continuing to fine tune his skills. His early years on varsity, where Columbia Academy fell short of its goals in the postseason, have helped to prepare him for this run, the Bulldogs’ first state tournament appearance since 2018.

“My eighth grade year I looked up to the seniors. We had a big, heavy senior class and they helped me a lot,” Skelton said. “Last year we were very young and last year we got (eliminated in) first round in the district (tournament), that’s pain. So I mean, that's what this is all for.”

Columbia Academy has a relatively inexperienced team, with only three players having ever been past the regional tournament. While the players might not have made it to Murfreesboro before, Estep certainly has.

In the last state tournament appearance in 2018, Estep led the Bulldogs to a Class 1A state championship over Loretto.

Skelton credits the experience the coaching staff brings as a reason for the Bulldogs’ success this season.

“(Estep’s) been here before, he knows what we're doing,” Skelton said. “He wrote on the board ‘Final Four’ from the first day of school. We've been practicing since the first day of school, he wrote it on there the first day and that's where we are.”

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Estep’s experience could pay dividends as the Bulldogs are now just two wins away from a state title.

“They just continue to surprise us. They continue to fight hard and just find ways to win,” Estep said. “So that's what the (2018) group had too. So that's the similarity they have; they just come out here and fight you and find a way to win.”

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: Columbia Academy advances in state tournament behind Gunner Skelton