jim Weber / the Commercial appeal May 26, 2016 - CBHS players pile up to celebrate their D2 AA Baseball win over Brentwood Academy for the state title at MTSU in Murfreesboro.

SHARE May 26, 2016 - Christian Brothers' Hayden Leatherwood celebrates a triple from third base after getting past Brentwood's Warren Preston during their state title game at MTSU in Murfreesboro. (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

By J.T. Mullen, joseph.mullen@commercialappeal.com

For Christian Brothers High pitcher Michael Feather, Thursday's Division 2-AA state championship game was the finale of his prep career.

The senior was 8-0 and his team, which had faced adversity early in the season, was on a roll, winning 30 of its last 33. The last step would be bringing home the D2-AA state title for the second consecutive year.

Brentwood Academy struck first, scoring in the second inning on a single to left field. CBHS struggled to find its footing at the plate through four innings, but that changed quickly in the top of the fifth when junior left fielder Hayden Leatherwood connected for a two-run triple to right field.

The Purple Wave (35-10) went on to score four more runs through the final three innings, defeating the Eagles 6-1 for the program's 13th state baseball championship on Thursday at MTSU's Reese Smith Field.

"It's just ending my baseball career on a really great note — going back-to-back with this group of seniors," Feather said. "It really means a lot to just be able to play with these guys and end out on top."

Feather pitched a complete game, allowing one run on seven hits with three strikeouts.

"I just had faith in our hitters," Feather said. "I knew we've always been a late-inning team. We've got a great hitting team. I just expected us to get some runs. I expected that as long as I held my own, that my hitters would do the same."

CBHS coach Buster Kelso said his team never stopped battling.

"It's difficult to repeat," he said. "We started 1-4 and we didn't think we'd be in this position. But the kids worked hard. They are a pretty gritty bunch and I'm very proud of them. I'm very impressed by what they did in the last month. I think we won 23 of the last 24 games we played. That's hard to do."

Leatherwood led CBHS, going 2 for 4 with two triples, three RBIs and one run scored.

"We have been working very hard over the course of the season. At the beginning of this game, I thought it was going to be a rough start for us. Then after the fourth inning, we had a couple people on base and I decided I was going to take control of this game. I was going to take whatever that pitcher gave me. He started me off with the curveball; ball. Then he gave me a fastball inside and I was going to take care of that."

Brentwood Academy (28-12), who made it to the title game after losing 1-0 to McCallie in the first round of the tournament, could not capitalize when it mattered most.

"We've struggled all year offensively," said Brentwood coach Buddy Alexander. "That was big to even get on the board early. We are not a great offensive team. We had some chances beyond the one run early, but I knew we'd have to capitalize on every chance, and we didn't."

Senior pitcher Thomas Swafford gave up three runs on four hits and two walks in five innings for the Eagles.

"I thought their left-hander was handling us pretty well," Kelso said. "I didn't think we were going to come out of it. We got a couple key hits and he got a little tired. We were a little fresher on the mound then they were and that was the difference in the game."

LIONS END ONE WIN SHORT

Harding fell 8-1 to Franklin Road Academy in the Division 2-A championship game.

The Lions, who fell in the first round of the tournament to Davidson Academy 9-0 on Tuesday, battled back for their fourth state runner-up finish.

"It's been familiar territory for us," Harding coach Al Stevens said. "I told them the possibilities. They believed that and got back to this point. There was no pressure. I wasn't surprised. We got a good group and they supported one another, so it didn't surprise me to get back to this point."

The Lions (33-8) couldn't recover after giving up five runs in the first inning. Third baseman Peyton Warren led the Panthers, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

Casey Harford took the loss for Harding, which got its run in the bottom of the third.

Stevens gave credit to Franklin Road for how the team handled the loss of longtime coach George Weicker to pancreatic cancer in February.

"Hats off to Franklin Road," Stevens said. "They've been playing well here towards the end of the season. I couldn't have asked for a better team to have won this, this year, over us than Franklin Road."