Everyone that’s been involved in this program contributed to today.”

Golden Eagles' Head Coach Chase Jones

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – Brody Thomas pitched a complete-game shutout, Caden Peacock broke the game open with a bases-clearing double, and the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (31-9, 5-3) handled Hendersonville (24-19, 6-2) with relative ease in a 6-0 win to punch the program’s first-ever ticket to next week’s State Tournament on Friday afternoon.

“Where we were five years ago, and where we’ve come…those groups that have laid the foundation for what we were able to do today, that’s what I’m thinking of,” Shelbyville Central Head Coach Chase Jones said postgame, “This bunch, what a special group this is, and all the young men that I’ve been fortunate enough to coach in this program that laid the foundation so that we can have a day like we did today.”

In Jones’ first season in 2022, the Golden Eagles finished just 4-28 overall with a 2-10 record in district play. In 2026, without a single senior on the entire roster, the Golden Eagles are heading to the TSSAA Class 4A State Tournament for the first time in program history with a District 6-4A Championship, a Region 3-4A Championship, and a 31-9 record overall in what has been a truly remarkable turnaround.

“There were probably a lot of people that weren’t sure they made the right hire when I got here,” Jones admitted, “but we were very young at that time, and we got the culture right. Those young men bought in, and every year, they’ve added to the culture and the makeup of this locker room. Everyone that’s been involved in this program contributed to today.”

Following Thursday night’s 11-inning marathon, the Golden Eagles turned to Brody Thomas on the mound. Thomas responded with perhaps his best outing of the entire season, allowing just three hits and no runs with two walks and five strikeouts on 92 pitches in a complete 7.0 innings of work. He allowed Hendersonville runners to reach scoring position just three times all game, and he pitched with a tight 2-0 lead until the bottom of the seventh.

“We wouldn’t be here without the performances from Brody [Thomas] that he’s had the past two outings,” said Jones, “The thing is, you can say that about a lot of kids in our lineup. So many kids have stepped up in big moments, but Brody pitched his tail off today. He held Hendersonville at bay pretty much the entire day, and after we put the two-spot up in the first inning, we were never really in any danger after that. In this kind of game, that’s huge.”

Since the Golden Eagles were the home team in Game One, the Commandos were batting second for Game Two. Nonetheless, Shelbyville Central once again got off to a strong start in the first inning that began with a Stephen Bobo leadoff walk. Blake Bone singled on a perfectly-placed bunt, then Caden Peacock worked a walk to load the bases, and then with one out Thomas was eventually hit by a pitch from starter Joe Mosley to drive in Bobo from third to take a 1-0 lead. Then, Elijah Westbrooks came up clutch with an RBI-single on a line drive into center field to give the Golden Eagles a 2-0 advantage. 

However, the hosts would leave the bases loaded, sending Thomas to the mound with a two-run lead. Thomas got the first two outs quickly, but then a throwing error on a Jakob Murphy infield chopper from the pitcher allowed Murphy to take second base with two outs. Thomas walked Houston Bogle, but he then induced an inning-ending groundout from Tyler Johns to end the threat.

Hendersonville brought on Ford Proctor in relief, and Proctor was able to steady the Commandos’ ship until the seventh inning. Proctor held the volatile Golden Eagles’ lineup in check, posting zeros to match the dominance of Thomas for much of the afternoon.

In the bottom of the third, Thomas worked around a two-out walk and a single to strand runners on first and second, and then he did it again in the fifth. This time, after a two-out double from Mosley, Caden Peacock fired a laser to second and backpick the Commandos’ stud sophomore to abruptly end the inning. Thomas would not allow Hendersonville to threaten again.

“He was locating, specifically his off-speed,” Jones said about his pitcher, “He spiked his breaking ball a couple times, but he was able to locate it for strikes today. He pounded the strike zone. He gets so geared up and locked in on the mound where he’s almost like a wild man out there, but it works for him and he absolutely kept the pressure on Hendersonville all day by pounding the strike zone.”

Finally, in the top of the seventh, the Golden Eagles were able to put the game to bed. Braxton Vari opened the inning with a leadoff single, then Stephen Bobo roped a one-out double into left, putting runners on second and third with Bone stepping to the plate.

Bone worked a walk to load the bases and pass the baton to Caden Peacock, and Peacock promptly delivered by smoking a bases-clearing double down the left-field line to take an insurmountable 5-0 lead. Westbrooks singled home the sixth and final run of the game with another RBI-single to give Thomas a 6-0 cushion with just three outs remaining.

“Thinking back to the end of last year and the offseason before this season, we’ve had a lot of conversations about Caden [Peacock] about needing to grow into a leader on this team,” Jones said about his star catcher, “He’s always had the raw ability – heck, he’s the best catcher I’ve ever coached – but he’s grown into a man this year and an absolute leader in our dugout. When you talk about guys we wouldn’t be here without, you can go through the whole roster, but he is absolutely one of those guys. What he does in the dugout to make sure the kids stay involved and stay up for every pitch over the course of a game, I can’t be more proud of him and the growth that he has had throughout the course of the spring.”

Thomas set down the Commandos in order to slam the door shut and officially punch the Golden Eagles ticket to Murfreesboro. With the win, Chase Jones has now led a third baseball program to the State Tournament, and he has enough experience to offer advice to his young team.

“It flies. The State Tournament flies by,” Jones emphasized, “When the State Tournament comes, a lot of people think you can slow down and enjoy it, but that’s not how it works. When I was at Grundy [County], we played in Smyrna one year, got through with game one after a rain delay at 1:30 a.m. and got beat in extra innings before having to turn around and play an elimination game at 9:00 later that morning. All of a sudden, Wednesday morning at noon, our season was over. We have got to get back locked in after today because when Tuesday comes, you’re diving head first into the deep end and we’ve got to be ready for it.”

At the plate for the Golden Eagles, Stephen Bobo led off going 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, Blake Bone went 1-for-3 with a walk, and Caden Peacock finished 1-for-3 with three RBIs, a double, and a walk. Case Davis was 1-for-3 with a walk, Elijah Westbrooks went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Braxton Vari finished 1-for-3. In total, the hosts finished with seven hits and one error to Hendersonville’s three hits and zero errors.

Shelbyville Central is scheduled to take on Ravenwood in the first round of the State Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Siegel High School. The Raptors enter as the Region 6-4A Champions and the District 11-4A Runners-Up with a 32-9 (9-3) record on the year.