Knox County 12U All-Stars Battle Through Elimination Bracket During District Tournament

BARBOURVILLE — The Knox County 12U Baseball All-Stars refused to let an opening-round setback define their postseason, battling back with consecutive elimination-game victories before their tournament run came to an end in the loser’s bracket final.
Coached by Travis Mills, Knox County finished the District 4 Tournament with a 2-2 record, showing resilience after dropping its opener and fighting to within one win of the championship round.
Knox County opened tournament play against Harlan, falling 8-2 despite collecting five hits.
Jacob Mills paced the offense by going 2-for-3 with a run scored while John Miles doubled, Tripp Taylor and Carter Smith each added hits, and Zayden Cunningham drove in a run. The pitching staff combined for seven strikeouts with Hudson Butler, Tucker Greene, Gunner Graggs, Jacob Mills and Case Thompson all seeing action on the mound.
Facing elimination, Knox County responded with a strong all-around performance to defeat Tri-City 7-5.
Tripp Taylor led the offense with two hits and two runs scored while Hudson Butler went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Tucker Greene scored twice and drove in a run, Gunner Graggs tripled and added an RBI, Carter Smith drove in a run, and Gunner Carnes chipped in a hit. Case Thompson turned in an outstanding relief effort, allowing just two runs over five innings while striking out five to help Knox County advance.
The momentum carried into the next round as Knox County knocked off Pineville/Bell 8-3 to keep its season alive.
After falling behind early, Knox County battled back with single runs in each of the first three innings before scoring five runs in the fifth to pull away.
Gunner Graggs starred by going 2-for-2 with a double, triple, two RBI and two runs scored. Hudson Butler added two hits and two RBI, Tucker Greene doubled and drove in two runs, Carter Smith collected two hits, while Case Thompson and Zayden Cunningham also contributed hits. Jacob Mills reached base three times and scored twice, and Greene earned the win on the mound by working 5.2 strong innings with five strikeouts before Graggs recorded the final out.
Knox County’s tournament run came to an end in a rematch against Harlan, which claimed a 9-3 victory in the loser’s bracket final.
Hudson Butler led the Panthers offensively with two hits and an RBI, Zayden Cunningham doubled and drove in a run, while John Miles and Case Thompson added hits. Jacob Mills scored after drawing two walks, and Gunner Graggs also crossed the plate. Mills struck out four over 3.1 innings in the start before Tripp Taylor and Butler combined to finish the game on the mound.
The Knox County 12U Baseball All-Star roster consisted of Evan Barrett, Gunner Carnes, Zayden Cunningham, Case Thompson, Tucker Greene, Carter Smith, Tripp Taylor, Bryson Asher, Hudson Butler, Gunner Graggs, John Miles and Jacob Mills.