MURFREESBORO — Sweetwater baseball’s season came to an end in the Class 2A state tournament for the second consecutive season.
The Wildcats won 32 games this season — the most wins in a single season based on the records available — while repeating as District 3-2A champions.
Another season of success, building on Sweetwater and coach Travis Watson’s legacy of baseball, ended May 22 with a 9-8 loss to Smith County on day two of the state tournament.
“It is a terrible time to have a meeting, it is the meeting you do not want to ever have to have,” Watson said. “We told the team these four (seniors) are ready. They are resilient and they are tough. I do believe the program has helped them move on into life and whatever direction they go.
“I think they are going to be great fathers, great husbands and that is the most important thing.”
While the season is heavy with success and accolades, the process to Murfreesboro was not as smooth. Bumps came up, things get derailed.
But the kids in Sweetwater have shown again the capability to handle the curves and curveballs. Winning with their back against the wall and finding ways to extend the season deeper and deeper.
“I think it is their work ethic. They are always at the field and they are always working. When you get a competitive guy that is willing to outwork the next it is always easier,” Watson said. “I think the game does that and all four of them are ready.”
Sweetwater faced elimination four times before arriving in Murfreesboro - the same number of games with their back against the wall as a year ago.
But in those four games — 26 consequential innings — the Wildcats trailed only once, allowing three runs on 20 hits.
Backs against the wall, Sweetwater shut out Kingston — eliminating the Wildcats for the second season in a row.
Then the program traveled to Jasper. After a no-hitter from Bryson Burgess to start the region tournament and a heartbreaking championship loss to Marion County, Sweetwater beat McMinn Central for the fifth time in six attempts in 2024, eliminating the rival Chargers.
Another three game series with perennial power Pigeon Forge was the final litmus test. Sweetwater lost the opening game after carrying a lead into the sixth inning, meaning the Wildcats would have to win twice at the host Tigers.
Sweetwater outlasted Pigeon Forge 3-1. Senior Tucker Lorenz kept the season alive with a two-out, go-ahead double, scoring freshman Nolan Dacus.
Game three would decide the Cats’ fate, but Sweetwater was not deterred. Facing the end of what was started as a very hopeful season, the Wildcats scored 15 runs off 15 hits to dominate Pigeon Forge 15-1.
“Going back, I am just super proud of our program and our team. Our backs were against the wall to get here, but we would find a way to get here and to get here,” Watson added. “I could not be more proud of them.”
Even in the game that dismissed the program from the tournament, Sweetwater navigated trailing twice and retook the lead once before Smith County won on their final out.
One day prior, the Wildcats scratched and clawed back into the opening game despite falling behind 4-0 through two innings and by five runs by the fifth.
For seniors Kai Correll, Tucker Lorenz, Caleb Powell and Blaine Watson, the season is a testament to their resilience over the years and determination to make impacts in Sweetwater and on the field.
Field renovations at Sweetwater have been the talk of the town, but the changes to the players on the field, the system that Travis Watson has built in Monroe County, is the biggest shiny part of the diamond.
“Life is like baseball. There is a lot of adversity and a lot of curves. I think the game of baseball has prepared them for this and I feel good moving forward,” Watson said.
As a team, Sweetwater batted .340 through 44 games in 2024 — moving Watson to 98 career wins since starting in the abbreviated 2020 season.
Sweetwater totaled 80 extra base hits with 282 RBIs and 332 runs scores.
The pitching staff, one that at times had five or six arms all capable of throwing in jams, combined for 219 strikeouts and a 2.57 ERA.
Defensively, Sweetwater turned 32 double plays with a team fielding percentage of .916 and 854 putouts.
Lorenz was a part of 11 double plays, mostly playing at shortstop, while Burgess was involved in nine from second base and pitcher.
Last year’s run to the final four of the Class 2A state tournament turned heads, but to make the trip to Murfreesboro again, with the number of eyes now on the Wildcats, shows that it was not a flash in the pan.
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