MURFREESBORO — With a runner standing on third base in the bottom of the seventh, a quick glove on the ball might have helped Sweetwater to extend its season but, when Smith County’s Wyatt Claywell sent the ball into the gap behind the second baseman, hopes were dashed.
The winning run quickly scooted across the plate, propelling the Owls to a 9-8 walkoff win over Sweetwater on day two of the Class 2A state tournament at Stewarts Creek High School on May 22.
Smith County (22-12) was threatening in the inning. Runners on second and first with one out put the Cats (32-12) in a tight spot, but Caleb Powell quickly caught an Owl in a rundown, tagging him out as he advanced to third for the second out of the frame.
Advancing from first to second led to a second rundown for the Owls before a throwaway at first base progressed the eventual winning run to third base, setting up Claywell’s hit.
The Wildcats needed a run in the top of the seventh to keep the game going to the bottom half. Trailing 8-7, Jayden Richesin started the inning off with a single before advancing to second off Brody Watson’s sacrifice bunt.
The throw to first on Bryson Burgess’ single hit the dirt, knocking up and beyond first base, creating a scoring lane for Richesin to tie the night.
Sweetwater later had the bases loaded and two down for Kai Correll, but a grounder ended the threat.
“You have the best eight teams in the state. You have to be good to get here and you have to have a break or two to go your way — one hit or one diving catch away from winning a game,” Sweetwater coach Travis Watson said. “There were two really good teams going at it. They happened to be the home team and got the extra at-bat.”
The Wildcats hit well, matching Smith County with 13, but turned four errors in the contest — the most they have had this season.
An early deficit hurt the Wildcats on Day 1, but Sweetwater turned that around with a pair of runs in the top of the first and third innings, taking a 3-0 lead into the middle third.
Sweetwater led two batters in when Blaine Watson’s single started it and Correll scored the senior with a double to the right-center field fence.
Powell led the third off with a single to the wall before Correll advanced him to third with his second of three hits on the day.
Powell got caught in a rundown advancing home off a Tucker Lorenz single. The throw home bounced wayward off the back of Powell’s helmet, scoring the senior and moving runners to third and second.
A pair of infield popouts ended the frame.
“I thought we could tack on two or three more there. We had second and third a couple of times,” Watson added. “It was almost like ‘Can we keep the pedal down.’ We just did not create a big enough inning there to put them away early on.”
Smith County was at a turning point, down five early and held to one hit — a grounder that Richesin made a snag to hold the runner at first.
The Owls did put pressure on Sweetwater in the third. Smith County started off with three consecutive hits leading to one run. Three more consecutive singles, these on two outs, led to a four-spot for Smith County.
The Wildcats did find a scoring response, the final four innings accounted for nine runs and three lead changes.
Sweetwater’s three-spot in the fourth inning started with walks to Brody Watson and Nolan Dacus before a single from Powell loaded the bases.
Correll knocked a grounder to score Brody Watson. Lorenz's go-ahead single snuck just under the glove at shortstop, scoring Dacus and Powell.
Westen Vance pitched five innings against Sweetwater, allowing nine hits and striking out three.
“He threw effective, kind of wild at some times. Made some big pitches when he had to and knew what he was doing,” Watson said. “He kept them in the game. We were close to punching him and he did a nice job there.”
Sweetwater found two runs against Jaden Preston, the tying run in the seventh and one in the sixth.
Powell doubled up the third base line to start the frame before a couple of outs left him in a hole. Gus Campbell stepped in to pinch run as Powell prepped for the final inning on the mound.
Lorenz’s third RBI of the night cut Smith County’s lead to 8-7.
Smith County found runs in the fourth and fifth innings. The bottom of the fourth looked like it would be detrimental, but a double play at second base cut the momentum at a desperate time for Sweetwater.
Burgess made a spectacular grab and spin on a hard-hit ball, flipping it to Lorenz for the first out before a beamer to Brody Watson snagged two.
“The freshmen have played well going down the stretch. I don’t know if we have had a team since I have been here that has turned as many double plays as we have,” Watson said. “It was certainly remarkable from a defensive standpoint. It was an inning killer for them.”
Sweetwater turned 32 double plays this season — compared to 20 in 2023 and 16 in 2022.
Burgess started the day on the hill, tossing three innings and exiting at 54 pitches. Richesin appeared for just over two innings before Powell’s relief held Smith County to one run.
“We knew we were not going to start Caleb, but we were going to use him if we had to,” Watson said. “They were at the top of their lineup and they had seen Jayden a couple of times. We wanted to go with a fresh pitcher and Caleb has been great all year.
“He was the right guy at the right time. We knew it was going to be batter-by-batter for him.”
Across the tournament, White House Heritage eliminated Alcoa 11-4 in nine innings while Loretto knocked Milan into the elimination bracket with a 10-5 win at Riverdale.
Milan knocked out White House Heritage 6-5 Wednesday night.
Huntingdon advanced into the final four with an 8-1 win over Riverside at Stewarts Creek before Riverside walked off Smith County in Wednesday’s nightcap, eliminating the Owls.
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