Jitters were abundant early, but Alex Prewitt and the Hixson Wildcats settled in to earn a 10-4 victory over Loudon High School in a messy Region 3-AA baseball semifinal Monday. It included 10 total errors.
Prewitt was not at his best, allowing the four runs and eight hits, but he got plenty of run support and went the distance to take the win.
"He's a grinder, man. He just pounds the zone and forces them to put it in play," Hixson coach Colton Green said. "No matter what's going on out here [in the field], he just goes out there and pitches.
The Redskins got on the board early with two runs on two hits and two Wildcats errors in the first. Jesse Smallen delivered an RBI double to plate Trent Elliot, who led off the game with a single.
"We got off to a slow start, spotting them two in the first," Green said.
Hixson responded with a four-run outburst in the bottom half. Chase Jones walked and Prewitt hit a single in front of Austin Gilkey, whose hit scored Jones.
Third baseman Gill Brown then delivered a three-run blast over the left-field fence to give the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish. Brown struggled through the district tournament but came through with two hits and four RBIs as the next round began.
"I just kept swinging," Brown said. "No matter what happens, you can't stop swinging."
"That home run changed the game," Green said. "He just stuck with it and got a hold of one. He was due."
Hixson would score three more in thefourth and put the game away with three in the sixth. Prewitt delivered an RBI double in the fourth to help his cause, while Gilkey and Brown plated two of the runs in the sixth.
The Redskins totaled six errors.
"The multiple errors in an inning hurt, but that goes with the youth of our team," Loudon coach Aaron Everett said. "If we make the routine plays, we would've been right there in the game. Our pitching has been good and we rolled up a bunch of ground balls but didn't make the plays."
Loudon added two runs in the seventh off of Prewitt.
Trent Elliot went 3-for-4 in the game and led off the seventh with a double, scoring on Jesse Smallen's single. Cody Thompson then doubled to deliver the final Redskins run.
Loudon also threatened with runners on third and first in the second and again in the sixth, when it started the inning with two singles but was unable to score, stranding runners on third and second.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.