Even with four district games to be played, the feeling in both dugouts Tuesday at Hixson was that this was a must-win game: Win this one and get at least the inside track for the postseason tournament's No. 1 seed.
Central had to win or all but hand the 6-AA regular-season championship to the Wildcats, who have a two-game district series next week against Red Bank.
Central avenged an earlier loss to Hixson 9-4, and the five-run margin will give the Purple Pounders the tiebreaker if the two end the season with identical league records. Hixson had won the earlier game 8-4.
"I told the guys we had to win by five if we wanted the No. 1 seed," Central coach Glen Carter said.
With his team clinging to a precarious 5-4 lead through six innings, senior catcher Kolby Hinshaw came through with a monster three-run homer to left-center and Ike Dietz, pinch-running for Jonathan Alston, scored from third on a balk to give the Pounders the much-desired five-run spread.
"We got the big hit by Kolby to go up by four. I never saw it go over the fence. I was screaming, 'Tag! Tag! Tag!' He's been hitting it fairly well lately and he got the pitch he wanted," Carter saod.
"I was sitting on a fastball," Hinshaw said, admitting, "I saw it go. It's special to beat these guys. It's an intense rivalry. And we're in position now for the No. 1 seed."
Pounders starting pitcher Andrew Bingham was on just enough. He gave up three first-inning runs - only one of them earned - but allowed just one more the rest of the way, thanks in part to Hinshaw throwing out a pair of would-be base-stealers at second.
"I was confident all night and this was probably one of the better games I've thrown," said Bingham, who went from mostly off-speed pitches in the early and middle innings to the fastball later. "I wanted to throw a little harder, and it worked out."
Carter was relieved.
"He's been hit or miss," the Pounders coach said. "Sometimes he's on, sometimes he's off and sometimes he's in the stands."
Hinshaw, who entered the game hitting .356, was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and four RBIs and Bingham, who doubled as his team's leadoff man, went 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
Tanner Moylen and Kenan Markum turned in 2-for-3 performances for the Wildcats.
"We had our chances but we didn't execute as well as I'd like offensively or defensively," Wildcats coach Colton Green said.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.