Assistant Coaches: Johnny Bolton, Logan Brown, Garren Jackson
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| 2021 University High Baseball Varsity | ||||
| Date: | Opponent | Location | Time | |
| March: | ||||
| Monday, 15th | South Greene | South Greene | 5:00 | |
| Tuesday, 16th | Chuckey Doak | Thomas | 5:00 | |
| Saturday, 20th | Tennessee High/Sullivan Central (DH) | Tennessee High | 1:30 | |
| Cancelled ...Friday, 19th | Providence | Broyles Field | 5:00 | |
| Monday, 22nd | Sullivan South | Sullivan South | 5:00 | |
| Wednesday, 24th | Happy Valley | Happy Valley | 5:00 | |
| Friday, 26th | David Crockett | Crockett | 6:00 | |
| April: | ||||
| Thursday, 1st | Chattanooga Tournament | Lookout Valley | TBA | |
| Friday, 2nd | Chattanooga Tournament | Lookout Valley | TBA | |
| Saturday, 3rd | Chattanooga Tournament | Lookout Valley | TBA | |
| Monday, 5th | Sullivan North | Cardinal Park | 5:00 | |
| Tuesday, 6th | Sullivan North | Sullivan North | 6:00 | |
| Friday, 9th | Hardin Valley | Thomas | 6:30 | |
| Monday, 12th | Unaka | Unaka | 5:00 | |
| Tuesday, 13th | Unaka | Thomas | 5:00 | |
| Thursday, 15th | South Greene | Broyles Park | 5:00 | |
| Friday, 16th | Cosby | 5:00 | ||
| Saturday, 17th | Gatlinburg Pittman | Gatlinburg Pittman | 12:00 | DH |
| Monday, 19th | North Greene | Broyles Field | 5:00 | |
| Tuesday, 20th | North Greene | North Greene | 5:00 | |
| Thursday, 22nd | Chuckey Doak | Chuckey Doak | 5:00 | |
| Friday, 23rd | Sullivan Central | Sullivan Central | 5:00 | |
| Saturday, 24th | Knoxville West | Kingsport Mets | 12:00 | |
| Monday, 26th | Hampton | Hampton | 7:00 | |
| Tuesday, 27st | Hampton | Thomas | 5:00 | |
| Friday, 30th | Sullivan East | Sulllivan East | 5:00 | |
| May: | ||||
| Tuesday, 4th | Elizabethton | Twins Field | 5:00 | |
| Wednesday, 5th | Providence | Providence | 5:00 | |
| Post Season: | ||||
| Friday, 7th- Thursday, 13th | Distric Tournament | TBA | TBA | |
| Monday, 17th | Regional Semi-Finals | TBA | TBA | |
| Wednesday, 19th | Regional Finals | TBA | TBA | |
| Friday, 21st | Sectionals | TBA | TBA | |
| Monday, 24th-27th | State Tournament | TBA | TBA | |
| Conference Games | ||||
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Go, Bucs, Go! Several articles were printed in the Johnson City Press over the last
few days highlighting our Athletic teams as follows:
High school roundup: University High takes down state's top-ranked team
Douglas Fritz
11 hrs ago
Talk about big wins.
University High took down the state’s No. 1-ranked baseball team, beating North Greene
2-1 in a dandy high school baseball battle Monday at Science Hill’s Broyles Field.
UH coach Josh Petty said his team’s tough schedule played a role in getting this win.
“I think it is a big deal,” Petty said. “Getting to see low 80s weekly, it helps when
you face strong Class A pitchers. We’re not surprised by anything. I think it really
helped.”
Kaleb Meredith had his fingerprints all over this one. On the mound he went the distance,
buffering the Huskies’ tough lineup and limiting them to three hits. Meredith gave
up a first-inning run and nothing else, striking out nine, allowing five hits and
walking one.
“Kaleb threw the ball well,” Petty said. “He threw his secondary stuff great. And
he came up big at the plate. He had a good day.”
At the plate, Meredith had a key one-out hit that put Hank Stott in scoring position
for Will Joyner’s go-ahead sacrifice fly. Meredith also drove in UH’s first run with
a fourth-inning single. Meredith and Stott each finished with two hits.
No. 9 hitter Miles Bembry had sacrifice bunts to set up each of UH’s two runs.
North Greene ace Carson Whaley got the loss for the Huskies. The left-hander allowed
eight hits and striking out nine batters in a complete-game performance.
.......
=================================================
Roundup: Boone sweeps baseball tourney games
Douglas Fritz
Apr 17, 2021
........
University High 9-17 Gatlinburg-Pittman 2-4
Miles Bembry went 3 for 3, Kaleb Meredith drove in three runs and both UH players
doubled in the first game of a non-conference sweep.
Meredith, Jacob Pealer and Jesse Greene banged out two hits apiece for the Bucs, with
Greene picking up a pair of RBIs.
Greene won a three-inning start from the mound. He gave up just one hit while both
runs he yielded were unearned. Cade Pollock followed with a couple of shutout frames.
The second game ended three outs after the Bucs put up a eight-run fifth. Pollock
amassed five RBIs in a 3-for-5 performance (double), Brayden Ryder drove in four runs
while batting 2 for 3 and Hank Stott was 3 for 3 with a double and three RBIs.
Going 2 for 3, Meredith tripled and scored twice. For the game, the Bucs totaled 11
hits, giving them 20 for the day.
......
FRIDAY
University High 16, Cosby 0
Miles Bembry and Connor Horton combined to hold Cosby to one hit, Kaleb Meredith struck
for a pair of doubles and the Buccaneers dusted Cosby in four innings.
Bembry threw the first three innings, collecting six strikeouts. Horton notched a
pair of punch-outs in his one inning and neither pitcher issued a walk.
UH totaled 11 hits with Meredith and Joseph Armstrong (2 runs) each responsible for
two. Jacob Pealer, who doubled, contributed three RBIs while Meredith, Will Joyner
and Daniel Grindstaff all drove in a pair of runs.
Connor Horton tripled, Cade Pollock doubled and both players scored twice.
.......
=================================================
Roundup: Eaton pitches Hilltoppers past Sullivan East
Douglas Fritz
Apr 15, 2021
.......
University High 7, South Greene 1
Jacob Pealer had three hits, two RBIs and went six strong innings on the mound to
lead the Buccaneers.
Pealer allowed just two hits with six strikeouts. Joseph Armstrong had two hits and
two RBIs. Cade Pollock and Will Joyner each had two hits.
......
=================================================
High school roundup:: UH lands in record book with 37-run outburst
Douglas Fritz
Apr 13, 2021
Generating the fourth-highest run total in state history, University High downed Watauga Valley Conference rival Unaka 37-1 in a baseball game Tuesday at Thomas Stadium.
The Bucs amassed 25 hits in the five-inning affair, getting a 5-for-5 performance (three doubles) from Cade Pollock. He totaled six RBIs and also scored five runs.
Matching Pollock in the RBI department was Daniel Seehorn, who went 3 for 4 (2 doubles) with four runs and two walks. Joseph Armstrong banged out four hits in five at-bats, drove in four runs and scored four times.
Also for UH, Will Joyner was 3 for 3 with three runs. Garrett Gentry collected five RBIs in a 2-for-4, 2-run day and Connor Horton batted 2 for 2, scoring three times. Joyner and Horton both doubled and tripled as the Bucs cranked out 11 extra-base hits (9 doubles, 2 triples).
Other Bucs of note were Kaleb Meredith (2-5, double, 3 runs, 2 RBIs), Davis Hampton (double, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) and Daniel Grindstaff (3 runs, 3 RBIs). Meredith also went the distance for the pitching win, recording 12 strikeouts in the process. He held the Rangers to three hits and the run he allowed he unearned.
UH, which boasted a pair of 15-run innings (2nd, 4th), drew 10 walks in the contest with Jaxson Williams (2 runs) accumulating three.
The Rangers’ Landon Ramsey was 2 for 3 with a triple.
The state record for single-game runs belongs to Unicoi County, which beat Mt. Heritage, N.C., 53-6 in 1985. Four of the top six scoring efforts have been recorded by Northeast Tennessee schools (Unicoi 2, UH 1, Unaka 1).
High school roundup: Rollins, Cyclones produce one-sided win
Douglas Fritz
April 13, 2021
......
University High 15, Unaka 0
Cade Pollock threw 11 strikeouts and allowed just two hits as the Bucs made quick work of the Rangers.
Kaleb Meredith, Will Joyner and Pollock all had two hits and scored two runs at the top of the lineup.
Connor Horton, batting from the clean-up spot, had two RBIs and scored three runs. Jesse Greene also scored three times, while Joseph Armstrong had two hits and drove in two runs. Garrett Gentry added two RBIs.
Roundup: Science Hill gets no-hitter, perfect game on same day
Douglas Fritz
Apr 6, 2021
.....
University High 13, Sullivan North 2
Getting three RBIs from both Connor Horton and Kaleb Meredith, the Buccaneers dusted Sullivan North for the second day in a row.
Horton was 2 for 2 with a double, two runs and a pair of walks. Meredith went 2 for 3 and had a sacrifice fly.
Brayden Ryder doubled and scored three times, Daniel Grindstaff tallied two RBIs and the Bucs got on base 14 times by walks (8) and hit-by-pitches (6).
Grindstaff (3 IP, 7 Ks) picked up the pitching win as he and Joseph Armstrong (4 Ks), who hurled two shutout frames, combined for 11 strikeouts.
....
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High school roundup: Torbett goes long to lead Hilltoppers over Pioneers
Douglas Fritz
Apr 5, 2021
..........
University High 14, Sull. North 0
Holding the Golden Raiders to three hits, Kaleb Meredith struck out seven batters over five complete-game innings. He also knocked in a pair of runs.
Will Joyner enjoyed a bountiful RBI day, totaling five in a 2-for-3, 2-run effort. Cade Pollock finished at 2 for 2, Joseph Armstrong tallied two RBIs and Connor Horton coupled three walks with two runs.
......
Meredith throws one-hitter in Bucs' win over Warriors
March 24, 2021
University High senior pitcher Kaleb Meredith struck out nine in the Bucs’ win over Happy Valley.
ELIZABETHTON — Kaleb Meredith pitched a one-hit shutout and struck out nine as University High made quick work of Happy Valley in a five-inning game at Cannon-Gouge Park.
Meredith, who is committed to Tennessee, kept the Warriors off balance all day in a 10-0 victory.
Connor Horton had a big day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and driving in five runs for the Bucs. Hank Stott and Meredith also went 2-for-4, while Jacob Peeler reached base three times and scored twice.
.....
UH's Meredith has all the right tools
By Tanner Cook, December 3, 2020
Kaleb Meredith has already had some big moments in his two-sport career at University High and he’s not even halfway through his senior year.
“I would compare being on the pitcher’s mound in those big moments to being at the free-throw line late in the game,” Meredith said. “Every single pitch is so important. You’re trying to block out everything else and not really focus on anything else except the batter and the catcher or you and the goal.
“It’s all about staying focused and getting your job done.”
Meredith, a Class A all-state guard for the Bucs basketball team, has already accumulated 2,251 career points and is averaging more than 36 points a game this season.
As a left-handed pitcher, he’s amassed 74 strikeouts in 69⅓ innings and a 2.47 ERA. And that’s without a junior season that got canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
BIG MOMENTS
One of his highlight games came against Tennessee High two weeks ago when he scorched the nets for a career-high and school-record 49 points in Viking Hall.
“That was amazing because that’s where they play the Arby’s (Classic) and that’s a big gym,” Meredith said. “That’s where you want to play around here and it was an amazing feeling.
“I think the school record had been standing since 2009.”
Meredith scored his 2,000th point in last season’s District 1-A finals on a game-winning buzzer-beater against Hampton.
“The shot itself was surreal and I found out 20 minutes later that I had passed 2,000 on that shot,” Meredith said.
The Bucs made an appearance at the 2019 state basketball tournament in Murfreesboro, but lost to McKenzie in the first-round. Meredith scored 33 of UH’s 49 points.
“That whole experience was something else,” Meredith said. “Walking in and being able to have passes to get on a big floor with people everywhere was awesome. I really can’t describe it.”
The following spring, UH made a return appearance to the state baseball tournament behind a deadly 1-2 pitching punch of Michael Degennero and Meredith.
In the opening game of the 2018 state tournament against Loretto, the Bucs went up against future San Diego Padres first-round pick Ryan Weathers.
“Obviously, it’s an honor to go to the state baseball tournament, but it feels almost like a travel tournament because we’re playing at local high schools,” Meredith said. “(Weathers) was a force. I got lucky because I didn’t have to hit against him, but he faced six batters against us. He had five strikeouts and one of our guys managed to hit a grounder to third.
“He could hit, too. Pitchers don’t usually hit, but he hit one over the scoreboard against us.”
ON THE HARDWOOD
“I started coaching (Kaleb) in seventh grade,” UH basketball coach Herman Rice said. “That was his first year at University School. Kaleb is one of those kids within 15 minutes of the first practice, you knew that you had something special.”
Meredith won the Northeast Tennessee scoring title last season, averaging 24.6 points in 36 games.
Through his junior season, Meredith is averaging 20.3 points for his career, shooting 50.5% from the field, making 38% of his shots from deep and nailing 77.3% of his free throws.
Coming into his senior season, Meredith needed to make 116 3-pointers to make the top 10 list all-time in the state’s history (335).
If he were to have another monster season like he did last year, where he scored 882 points, Meredith could be looking at the magical 3,000-point mark.
“Another thing about him is that some kids with his talent would come to practice and not take it seriously, but he’s the hardest worker I’ve got,” Rice said. “He always has been. It shows in his game and also his leadership. These younger guys look up to him and it speaks to the quality of a human being that he is.”
CHASING HISTORY
Only 22 boys and 9 girls in the history of Tennessee high school basketball have ever scored more than 3,000 points, according to the TSSAA record books. Only one — 1979 David Crockett graduate Jennifer Taylor (Campbell) with 3,144 — from the Johnson City Press/Kingsport Times-News coverage area has achieved the mark.
Former Tennessee High and Kentucky standout and Cleveland Cavaliers draft pick Derrick Hord still maintains the Northeast Tennessee boys scoring title, having amassed 2,947 points in his illustrious career that ended in 1979.
ON THE BUMP
A dominant southpaw in high school is something that most baseball players don’t want to see when they step into the batter’s box.
“What drew me to Tennessee is it really is like that hometown thing,” Meredith said. “Everyone around here loves them and they have great team success. They were 11th in the country before the pandemic shut them down.”
Said UH baseball coach Josh Petty: “When he can spin the ball and bury it deep and in the right-handed batter’s box, they have little to no chance. We knew exactly what we were getting one of the first times we saw him.
“When you’ve got a fastball in the 80s and you have command, you’re going to play in college. Kaleb has all the tools to be successful at the next level.”
In league play in his first two seasons, Meredith is 4-0, has a 0.76 ERA, a 0.79 WHIP and a 10.7 strikeout per game rate.
Meredith isn’t shabby at the plate either, tallying a .415 career on-base percentage and has 29 steals.
“He does a great job working deep into the count and he sees the ball about as well as anybody,” Petty said. “The thing that speaks to his work ethic is on weekends — he goes out there in the winter and throws his bullpen session.”
OFF THE PLAYING FIELD
In the classroom, Meredith excels as well, toting a 3.9 GPA and has a 29 on the ACT.
“He’s always on time and he’s one of the most humble people you’ll ever meet,” Petty said. “He’s quiet and let’s his actions do the talking. He’s a real top-notch kid.”
Said Rice: “Kaleb doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body. He’s such a great kid and if you got to know him, you’d realize how much better of a person he is than he is an athlete. And he’s a really good athlete.”
