As Blake Anderson settled under the final fly ball of Polk County’s Senior Night, shortstop Noah Harden stood in the infield, one finger raised in the air.
It was a moment Harden and his fellow seniors had been working toward for four years.
Anderson snared the out and made it official – the Wolverines are the 2026 Western Highlands Conference baseball champions, sealing the title with a drama-free 16-1 romp past Avery before a large crowd at The Bottoms.
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Polk County (14-8, 9-1) raced to a 16-0 lead after two innings, ensuring its class of 10 seniors had plenty to celebrate at evening’s end. That group includes Harden, Alex Perry and Gunnar Alm, each of whom were in the starting lineup on Mar. 1, 2022, the first game of their freshmen seasons.
The trio each contributed to Friday’s win. Perry pitched a complete game, giving up six hits and striking out six, and drove in two runs. Harden had a hit, drove in a run and scored three times. Alm finished 2-for-3 with two triples, three RBI, two runs and three stolen bases.
“AP (Perry), Noah and Gunnar, they’ve been four-year starters, and we’ve never had a winning season to this point,” said Polk County head coach Billy Alm. “They set out with a goal this season, and they accomplished it.
“We didn’t know what to expect at the beginning of the season, and here we are with a conference championship. I’m so proud of them.”
Perry worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first and it was all Wolverines from that point forward. Harden had an RBI triple, Perry added a run-scoring sacrifice fly and Aaron Jackson belted a two-run single as Polk built a 4-0 advantage after an inning.
The Wolverines batted around twice in the second inning, the frame included one of the more unusual statistical occurrences as Aaden Denton was hit by pitches in both of his at-bats. Polk had just three hits in the inning, one of those an Alm three-run triple, as six walks, three hit batters and two errors helped the Wolverines rack up 12 runs.
Polk didn’t score again, and Avery (7-11, 3-7) avoided the shutout with a run in the fifth, adding a bit of wait before the title celebration could begin.
“We started Aaden at second base and Will (Jarrett) in right. Aaden made a great over-the-shoulder catch like he’s played there all season, then got a ground ball like he’s played there all season and he hasn’t taken a rep there,” Alm said. “We put Will out there, and he goes back on a ball and catches it like he’s done it all season.
“We got everyone in. It was fun to watch tonight.”
Nate Fagan added a 2-for-2 effort with two RBI, two runs and two steals, and Zalen McCraw also finished 2-for-2 and scored twice.
Polk County will begin its final week of regular-season play on Tuesday, hosting Hendersonville.
