CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- If an imminent trip to Florida was on their minds Monday, a loss to their city rivals that night must've set Bradley Central's baseball Bears straight.
Bradley rebounded from Monday's 5-4 loss at Cleveland with an 11-4 rematch victory Tuesday before the team loaded up for a long-anticipated visit to Cocoa Beach. The District 5-AAA victory also allowed the Bears to snap a four-game losing streak and boost their league record to 3-2.
Cleveland, meanwhile, fell to 4-7 overall and 2-4 in the district.
Bradley, chafing still after a few choice words from coach Travis Adams after Monday's eighth-inning loss, exploded on Blue Raiders starting pitcher Joseph Martin, forging an 8-1 lead after just two at-bats.
The advantage allowed winning pitcher Chandler Hamilton (1-0) to coast through till the sixth, when he departed with a seven-run lead.
"I tend to grit my teeth when we walk the leadoff guy in any inning," Adams said. "I didn't sleep at all last night, and I told the guys I was going to be in a bad mood regardless."
Bradley Central's Byron Mantooth hits as his team hosts Cleveland in a high school baseball game Tuesday, Mar. 24, 2015, in Cleveland, Tenn.While he didn't lavish praise on Hamilton, Adams offered some kind words for his senior pitcher and No. 2 starter behind Ty King.
"He didn't have his best stuff, but his performance stands out because he kept them at bay (after a three-run third). He gutted it out," Adams said. "That's a senior for you, and on Mondays and Tuesdays (district games) that's who you're going to lean on. He was a bulldog."
It still wasn't an ideal day. The teams combined for 23 hits -- and five errors.
"We had some chances early to get some (runs), but we didn't execute. If we had we done that, we might've gotten a little momentum because we've been hitting well," Cleveland coach Ted Carson analyzed. "We have to be tougher on the mound, throwing ground balls, getting strikes and helping ourselves.
"We were coming off a big emotional win Monday night and it was a late night, but you have to suck it up and play hard. Maybe winning that one we got a little complacent."
While Bradley seeks some competition in Florida, Cleveland will be playing in the annual Central Invitational.
Both teams are looking to work out kinks with the kind of work that was negated because of bad weather much of the preseason and early in the season.
"Everybody is pretty much in that same boat," Carson said. "Some of the teams with a lot of returning starters might be ahead some, but most of us are in that same situation."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.