It’s a repeat in Sweetwater.
The Wildcats had to win twice to pull it off, with 6-3 and 5-4 wins over McMinn Central on Tuesday to win the District 3-2A championship.
Sweetwater’s run to a second consecutive district championship went smoother than a year ago. The top-seed Wildcats trailed for only three innings across five games and avoided deep runs into extra innings.
Facing elimination only once — against Kingston on May 6 — Sweetwater (28-8) quickly took a lead three at-bats in.
“They wanted it. It was a gutty team performance in both games. It really came down to just a few plays. We got off the field on defense when they had runners in scoring position,” Sweetwater coach Travis Watson said. “We used a lot of guys in and out on the mound, especially in the second game.”
Sweetwater cycled through the pitching catalog in the dual wins, using five arms that combined for 11 strikeouts and only three earned runs.
Tucker Lorenz — one of Sweetwater’s influential seniors — tossed five innings while also leading the Wildcats with six RBIs and four hits.
“We tried to minimize the amount of pitches we were going to throw over the weekend. We probably went a little over with Tucker in terms of pitches thrown, but he will hopefully get some soreness worked out and be able to play shortstop Friday,” Watson said.
GM1: No. 1 Sweetwater Wildcats 6, No. 2 McMinn Central Chargers 3: Sweetwater quickly fell behind in the opening game, trailing after the first half inning, before retaking the lead in the bottom of the first, something the Wildcats faced and conquered in Game 2 as well.
“Taking a punch, giving up that run and then coming back and giving them a punch back. It was like a boxing match,” Watson said. “Two really good teams going at it and this team is pretty tough and resilient.”
Trailing by two, Kai Correll reached first after taking a pitch before Blaine Watson’s single — his first hit of four on the day — brought the go-ahead run to the plate.
Lorenz delivered out of the third spot with a full-count home run to right field. One inning later, Lorenz’s RBI groundout scored what would become the game-winning run in Brody Watson.
Correll and Watson got on board in the bottom of the sixth through a hit batter and a one-out walk. Lorenz’s fifth RBI of the day was a double - scoring Correll.
Blaine Watson scored off a two-out wild pitch to move Sweetwater ahead 6-3.
Defensively, Sweetwater subdued Central’s (15-14) best chance of the night in the first inning. The Chargers loaded the bases with no outs, pushing one run across with a single and a second with a sacrifice fly.
A groundout to Lorenz brought the second out, holding all runners on their bases, before Bryson Burgess ended the jam with a nine pitch at-bat.
The Chargers loaded the bases again in the second inning, tying the game when Blaine Watson, now in at pitcher, hit a batter.
McMinn Central was held to seven baserunners, three hits and no runs from the third inning beyond.
GM2: No. 1 Sweetwater Wildcats 5, No. 2 McMinn Central Chargers 4: The Wildcats withstood Central’s final surge in a winner-take-all game two. With the game-winning run at the plate and two outs, Caleb Powell fielded a popout to left field, securing the title’s stay in Sweetwater.
Trailing by a run entering the bottom of the first, Blaine Watson reached base off a one-out single. Cade Houser powered a two-out home run out of left field, to take their final lead of the day.
Blaine Watson led the third inning off with a single before working his way to third and scoring on an error.
Brody Watson scored Jayden Richesin with a single later in the inning. Lorenz delivered what would be the game-winning hit in the fourth inning, doubling to score Powell.
Central had a chance to tie the score at five in the top of the fifth inning before Richesin stepped in on the mound, forcing a one-pitch popout to end the threat.
Lorenz pitched nearly five innings in the win with relief coming from Powell and Richesin.
Seniors Lorenz and Houser homered in the two wins, with Sweetwater combining for four extra-base hits, 14 total hits and 11 runs scored.
“We feel like we are kind of peaking at the right time. All the seniors are playing well and kind of leading the pack,” Watson said. “It is contagious for the younger players too.”
The Wildcats and McMinn Central will travel to Marion County High School in Jasper in the Central Time Zone for the Region 2-2A tournament.
Sweetwater opens up against the District 4-2A runners-up CSAS on Friday at 7 p.m. CST. McMinn Central faces the District 4-2A Champions Marion County.
“We are looking forward to it. The good thing is you only play one game on Friday, but you could play two on Saturday,” Watson said. “That took a lot out of us, playing that doubleheader, but hopefully we will be rested by Friday.”
Two wins are enough to win the region championship and three would secure a spot in the Class 2A sectionals. Sweetwater and Central reached the sectional a year ago.
The two winners on Friday will play at noon Saturday for the region championship and a berth in the sectional round.
Friday’s losers will play Saturday at 3 p.m. in an elimination game before playing the loser of the noon game for the final spot in the Class 2A sectional round.
The adjacent region sees Pigeon Forge host South Greene while Alcoa battles West Greene.
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