MURFREESBORO − It was probably the most difficult of the four, but that likely makes Eagleville's fourth straight TSSAA baseball Class 1A state championship even more fulfilling.
The Eagles (33-6) tied a TSSAA record with their fourth consecutive title on a walk-off, 6-5 win over Coalfield in the 1A title game at Middle Tennessee Christian May 24. Farragut (2008-11, 2022-25) shares the record.
"It's crazy to think about," said Eagleville Mr. Baseball finalist Brady Burns, who scored the winning run on a throwing error with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. "I'm speechless about everything."
Eagleville's four-year championship run has been, for the most part, a steamroll through 1A opponents. This was the program's 43rd consecutive postseason win. Eagleville hasn't played in an elimination game since the 2022 playoffs began.
But the 2025 season wasn't a cakewalk. Eagleville had to overcome a 12-6 deficit in the bracket final the day before, scoring seven runs in the top of the seventh to advance to the championship game.
The Eagles then watched a 5-1 lead evaporate in the title game as Coalfield scored the tying run in the top of the seventh. But Koltt Bassham's two-out infield single between third and short and subsequent throwing error allowed Burns to score from second with the championship run.
"I got up there thinking, 'This is pretty due,'" said Bassham, who was hitless in the state tournament before lacing two singles in the championship. "All year I succeeded by putting the ball in play. I knew one last time I could do it. I've been putting it in that six-hole all year. Sometimes you get lucky and win games."
Brody Gleason pitched seven innings and went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. He was actually lifted with one out in the seventh, but after two more Coalfield (32-6) batters reached and tied the game at 5, he was brought back in to get out of the inning.
"I'm feeling great," said Gleason, who started Eagleville's first game of the tournament. "It might have been adrenaline overtaking me. But I felt fantastic."
Eagleville baseball's Basshams enjoy multiple titles together
Eagleville coach Brandon Bassham won his first state title in 2022 with his older son Keydon as a senior and Koltt a freshman.
Koltt and Brandon were emotional after sharing one more championship together.
"They were together when it started," Brandon Bassham said of his sons. "As a coach, you dream about winning one, then to win it on the field with them together. I'm just proud of (Koltt). Being a coach's kid is tough."
Koltt, who has signed to play golf at Tusculum, watched mostly from the dugout during the first three championships, but worked his way into the starting lineup as a senior first baseman.
"I came in this year thinking, 'It's my turn to do this,'" Koltt said. "He trusted me from day one. It took me three years, but I got the starting job and came through in the clutch moment."
"I was thinking, 'Is this fate or destiny?'" added Brandon Bassham, when his son came to the plate in the seventh. "I don't care if it's a hit or an error, we got it done."
Burns, a Lincoln Memorial signee, went 1-for-3 with two runs. Maddox Bouldin was 1-for-2 with two runs.
Coalfield's Luke Treece, who holds the TSSAA record for most career doubles and career hits, went 2-for-2 with a two-run double and an RBI-single in the seventh that tied it.
Eagleville will again be hit hard by graduation, but the Eagles have faced that after each state title.
Eagleville does return most of its pitching staff, including the team's ace in Gleason.
"We're going to get the boys back together next year and give them another run," Gleason said.
Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.