Polk County came to Madison needing a win to take control of the Western Highlands Conference race.
The Wolverines left with exactly that – and a piece of school history.
Gunnar Alm broke Polk County’s all-time hits record and the Wolverines held off a late Madison rally to win 12-9 in Thursday’s Western Highlands Conference clash in Marshall, moving two games clear atop the standings with just a handful of conference games remaining.
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Polk County improved to 11-5 overall and 7-1 in conference play, that number the more important at this point as the Wolverines chase their first conference title since 2019. All other teams in the league now have at least three conference losses. Polk has a pair of two-game conference series left with Hendersonville and Avery.
Alm tied Joel Booker’s school record of 109 career hits with a two-run home run in the third inning, then broke the mark with a single in the fifth. He finished 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI.
Madison (7-4, 5-3) grabbed an early 1-0 lead, but Polk County jumped ahead 2-0 in the third on Alm’s home run. The Patriots responded with two runs in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead.
The Wolverines regained the lead in the fourth when Zalen McCraw’s two-run single scored Nate Fagan and Gavin Waldbillig to make it 4-3.
Polk County broke the game open with four runs in the fifth to extend the lead to 8-3. Alm’s record-breaking single started the rally, and the Wolverines added runs on wild pitches, errors and Aaron Jackson’s RBI single.
The Wolverines pushed the advantage to 11-5 with three runs in the sixth, that rally keyed by Noah Harden’s RBI double and Alex Perry’s RBI single.
Madison mounted a comeback in the sixth, scoring three runs to pull within 11-8, but Polk County answered with a run in the seventh when Alm singled home Matt Jarrett to make it 12-8. The Patriots added a run in the bottom of the seventh but got no closer.
Perry earned the win with 5 2/3 innings of work, and Fagan pitched 1 1/3 innings for the save.
Alm’s three hits led the offensive attack. Perry went 2-for-5 with an RBI, Jackson finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and McCraw contributed a hit and two RBI. Harden added a double and an RBI, Fagan scored three runs, Cooper Meyer scored once and Jarrett scored twice.
Polk County hosts West Henderson on Monday for a non-conference game.
