Joines walkoff home run advances Tellico, eliminates Sweetwater

Addison Joines has been swinging a big bat the past few weeks. She did it again on Monday.

With two on and no outs, the Tellico Plains freshman connected on the first pitch, launching a home run out of centerfield, advancing the Lady Bears into the District 3-2A semifinals and eliminating Sweetwater.

For the Lady Wildcats, it was a sign of how cruel the game can be. Sweetwater limited the Lady Bears' offense, survived jams, held a lead for multiple innings and played error-free, but the effort was outdone by two swings from Tellico Plains (17-7).

“I hate it for my seniors. But this was the first game in which we had no errors. At one point in the season, we were averaging seven or eight errors a game. For them to do everything right — Danielle Jones is making good plays at second, Ella is striking people out and we are getting those bumps and groundouts,” Sweetwater coach Sarah Davies said. “It is just a couple of good swings and that is it. I have to give props to Tellico — they are a good-hitting team. They got the timely hits and we did not.”

It was another swing of the bat that rescued Tellico Plains. Trailing 4-3 and facing their final three outs, senior Taylor Rose was the Lady Bears' hero.

She rifled a one-out home run out of left field, tying the game.

Sweetwater (13-8) allowed two hits after that — from Kadence Moses and Kalli Yates-Matoy — that saw Moses advance to third base. The Lady Bears’ chance ended though, with Jones snagging a fly ball to end the frame.

The Lady Wildcats' error-free performance is a direct sign of Sweetwater’s tremendous turnaround for a team that allowed 92 errors — 3.5 per game.

“That is what we stressed all year. Individually, they are all so good, but if someone had an error it would spread. Something clicked in the last few weeks that we started putting it together,” Davies said. “We just got better and better and better, but it was just not quite enough to get past Tellico. They are a good team.”

Sweetwater established a lead early. Kylee Kamps reached on a two-out error that scored Tori Thompson and Jones.

Two innings later, Kamps snagged her third and fourth RBIs of the night, singling to centerfield and scoring Lilly Woodruff and Jones.

“People ask me what has changed in this team and my first answer is Kylee Kamps. The way she has stepped up, not the least bit nervous and gets the job done, shows what a great kid she is,” Davies said. “She did not get a lot of playing time, but she never once complained. A lot of kids, as seniors, would have quit. I am so proud of her for sticking with it; she was the difference-maker at the end of this season.”

After getting her first hit of the season on April 26, Kamps finished the year with seven hits in five of the last six games.

The Lady Bears added runs in the second and third innings but did not take a lead until Joines’ decisive swing.

With two runners on, Rose grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Joines. One batter later, Bella Wright’s line drive scored Rose to tie the game.

Yates-Matoy blasted a leadoff home run in the bottom of the third, pulling Sweetwater within one run.

Meredith Linder struck out one batter and allowed four hits through seven innings before Moses’ one inning of relief saw one strikeout and no hits.

Ella Morgan went the full eight innings for Sweetwater, allowing nine hits and striking out five batters.

“Ella turned it on. Last year, she was in her hitting the batters in the head era and this year she was in her strikeout era,” Davies said.

Morgan struck out 59 batters through 89 innings her senior season. She began regularly appearing on the mound for Sweetwater midway through April with deeper performances coming later in the month.

“She turned it on this season and earned her spot. She showed some grit out there and her control and command on the mound is something that I did not know the kid had it in,” Davies added. “She has been so consistent this season, I am proud of her.”

Sweetwater rostered three seniors — Jones, Kamps and Morgan.

“They are great leaders in a quiet way. They lead by example and do the right thing; they are all so smart,” Davies said. “The kids looked up to them. It is something that came naturally to them. They were a great group of seniors to have.”