Caleb Powell tossed a one-hitter for Sweetwater as the Wildcats’ 10-0 win in six innings over Tellico Plains continued the team’s hot start.
Sweetwater (5-0; 2-0) is off to a perfect start on the season and completed its opening District 3-2A series sweeping and outscoring the Bears 27-0 (0-2; 0-2).
“He is a competitor and he kind of just pounded the zone. He did not try to do too much,” Sweetwater coach Travis Watson said.
Powell cycled through Tellico’s lineup solely on his fastball the first time through before clawing into his repertoire with a curveball and changeup.
“That is always good if you can do it. He had command of the fastball and he started mixing it up maybe around the third inning,” Watson added.
Powell struck out five batters in his complete game performance.
The senior faced four full counts, fell behind in the count for one at-bat and struck out two batters on three pitch at-bats. He walked one batter and hit two.
Tellico grounded into a fielder’s choice in the top of the fourth. With two on and one down, Darren McJunkin’s grounder to shortstop Tucker Lorenz caught Rylan Saffles advancing to second.
“Any time you can shut anyone out that shows you are playing good defense and throwing strikes. We had a little slow start on (March 12) and we had a chance to blow the game open — there are some things to work on,” Watson said. “We still have a long way to go and it was a good showing, but there is plenty to go on moving forward.”
The freshman Saffles recorded Tellico’s lone hit in the top of the sixth. Batting third, Saffles led in the count 2-0 before taking two strikes looking. On a full count, he fouled a chopper behind the plate before slapping a ball off the mound and toward second base.
“Just being a freshman, he has done a great job for us. He is learning and battling and facing some dang good pitching. Sweetwater is a great team and Watson does a great job. I can see them making a long run this year,” Tellico Plains coach Heath Ware said. “For him to get up there as a freshman and battle, that is awesome. That is what I want to see, guys that get in there and fight.
“They are young and inexperienced but they do the best they can. I was proud of him.”
Sweetwater scored 10 runs off 10 hits where junior Jayden Richesin led with four RBIs. A pair of freshmen — Bryson Burgess and Brody Watson — tallied two each.
Four Wildcats — all seniors — doubled - Kai Correll, Cade Houser, Lorenz and Blaine Watson.
“I think we have an experienced group of seniors that know how to win and what it takes. Their leadership has been really good up to this point,” Travis Watson said. “I think, moving forward, there is going to be some adversity coming and we will see how we can handle that as a team.”
Two hit batters in the bottom of the first helped to load the bases before Richesin’s fielder’s choice scored Lorenz. Tellico’s Cole Kirkland escaped the jam with a strikeout to Nolan Dacus on three watched strikes.
Burgess laid down a sacrifice bunt in the second inning to score Powell. Sweetwater went ahead 3-0 in the score when a hard-hit grounder brought home Houser.
Sweetwater added two more runs in the fourth. A wild pitch scored Blaine Watson before Richesin’s lineout allowed Houser to tag up later in the at-bat.
Burgess tallied his second RBI when his sacrifice fly brought in Ashton Brown in the sixth.
Richesin singled on a grounder into left field in the sixth inning, scoring Blaine Watson and Houser. Three batters later, Brody Watson’s sacrifice fly to right field scored Richesin and Dacus, the winning run.
“For us to compete with them at their level for five innings … I know that is not what a coach wants to do and lose by 10. But we competed for at least five innings,” Ware said. “I tell them if we can keep getting better every game then we can compete with anybody. My job is to continue to coach them and teach them.
“I have a job to do just as well as them and I have to do better at teaching them.”
Kirkland and Kyle Duckworth combined for 5.2 innings. Duckworth tallied one strikeout to Kirkland’s five. The two combined for three walks and three hit batters.
“We are just real young and inexperienced. I told them I want to see us get better every game. We have and I want them to compete,” Ware added. “We made a few young mistakes, we have to do a better job of getting out there and drilling it into their heads and coaching them better.”
Sweetwater is about to hit a busy part of the season, visiting Chattanooga Christian and hosting Cleveland before meeting McMinn Central in District 3-2A play. Sweetwater has outscored its first five opponents 57-12.
Tellico Plains is off until Monday when the Bears start a district series with Kingston.
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