A Spring Hill High School student and baseball player was killed in a one car wreck after his vehicle struck a tree on Williamsport Pike.

Kris Hardison, 17, a senior and member of the Spring Hill baseball team, was killed when his 2002 Chevy Tahoe crashed into a tree on Williamsport Pike Friday night, according to the Columbia Police Department.

Hardison was pronounced dead at Maury Regional Hospital. The crash is still under investigation.

Spring Hill baseball coach Paul Lamm said the team is still coping with the death of one of their team leaders. He said the team gathered for more than two hours Saturday.

"We let the kids get it all out," he said. "We lost a great teammate."

Lamm said he pulled Hardison aside Wednesday and told him he was proud him and liked the way he was conducting himself on the field and with the team.

"I'm glad I got to tell him what I did. He was as much a friend as he was a player," Lamm said.

Hardison started playing baseball with the Columbia American Little League and continued playing through high school. In 2008, he was named to the Class AA All-District 10 Team. He was also a member of the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Showcase Team in the summer of 2008.



Lamm said the team plans to take Hardison's jersey to every game and hang it in the dugout. The team will also make an alteration to its uniform to honor Hardison, Lamm said.

Spring Hill High School Principal Richard Callahan said he will remember Hardison as a "fine young man" who "provided outstanding leadership for the school."

"He had a business-like approach," Callahan said. "He was a great baseball player and student."

Callahan said school officials will discuss holding a memorial service next week, and counselors from Wright Elementary, E.A. Middle School and Spring Hill Elementary will be available for students Monday. Callahan said all after-school activities have been canceled to allow students to attend the funeral.

Services will be conducted 4 p.m. Monday at Graymere Church of Christ.

Burial will be in Polk Memorial Gardens.



Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Sunday at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home and 2 p.m. to service time Monday at the church.

Hardison is the second Spring Hill student to be killed in a car wreck in the last three months. Spring Hill graduate Kyle Delffs was killed July 29 when his car hit a tree on Baker Road.

"It happens way too often," Callahan said. "It's just sad to see these young lives end so soon. It seems like we've had our fair share. Our kids and families are strong and we're going to help them pull together. Knowing these men, they would want their friends go on with their lives and try to be as successful as possible."