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Some have said, “It’s a down year for the Admirals.� Still, this is the program which has 13 state baseball championships including each of the last three season.

The Admirals showed they’re still to be reckoned Wednesday by taking a 10-0 victory over Dobyns-Bennett in six innings at J. Fred Johnson Stadium.

Farragut improved to 27-10 by winning the first contest in a best-of-three sectional series.

The District 1-4A champion Indians (30-9) had their chances early. But, the Tribe left bases loaded in the first inning and 10 runners stranded overall. They had come into the game with some confidence after a 4-1 win over Farragut in an April 4 game.

“We got seven hits, but no timely hits,� Dobyns-Bennett coach Ryan Wagner said. “That first inning hurt. We will play small ball sometimes, but I didn’t know how many (runs) we’d have to have. When you have guys who have a pretty good percentage with runners on, you take a chance with them.�

The Indians also gave up too many free bases with 13 walks. Wagner tried a variety of pitchers, starting with Connor Godsey who went the first 2 1/3 innings. The walks were a huge difference as Farragut had just two more hits than Dobyns-Bennett.

“We didn’t pitch well, but we didn’t score a run either,� Wagner said. “We just didn’t perform on the mound or the plate. You can’t walk half that many in a game like this.�

Cam Hayworth, who is scheduled to get the start in game 2, had a pair of singles and reached base three times. Lead-off Maddox Martin also finished with two hits for the Tribe.

However, Farragut pitchers Reid Thomason and Brodie Roberts combined to record 10 strikeouts. Travis Brummitt Jr. did the most damage at the plate by driving in four runs. The teams will face off Thursday at 4:30 p.m. with an if necessary game to follow.

“They threw fastballs, breaking balls and change-ups. They pitched well,� Wagner said. “It’s going to be tough tomorrow, but we come in here, get hot and play clean baseball, we can win two games.�