Glen Carter was finally able to wash away all those previous trips to Sequoyah. The Central coach’s team secured a 10-4 victory and also grabbed the host’s spot for Wednesday’s Region 3-AA baseball championship game.
“We’ve played those guys like five times, and we finally got them. We hit the ball well and my guy was on,” he said.
His “guy,” pitcher Walker Waters, scattered six hits and overcame three errors by striking out 11.
“His fastball was fantastic. They couldn’t catch up with it,” Carter added.
Central also put on a hitting clinic, banging out 13 hits.
Johnathon Alston was 3-for-3 with two RBIs, Tucker Smith had three hits and an RBI, Kolby Hinshaw had two hits and two RBIs and Coty Reels added a 2-for-5 night.
Central (18-18) will host Sweetwater on Wednesday.
Class AAA
* Walker Valley 7, Cookeville 2: Matthew Pigg allowed just three hits and the Mustangs returned to their hitting ways with 11 hits. They’ll be on the road Wednesday at Ooltewah for the Region 3-AAA championship game. While Pigg had eight strikeouts, Tucker Mendenhall, Hunter Shamblin and Brady Swafford had two hits each, Mendenhall and Shamblin each with two RBIs for Walker Valley (23-12).
Class AA
* Sweetwater 3, Hixson 2: Hixson’s Wildcats had the tying run on third but the pitcher was standing in the middle of the field and cut a throw from the outfield and cut down the runner. Hixson had an early lead, scoring two runs in the first on six consecutive singles with RBI hits from Tanner Moylan and Tyler Weaver.
* Murfreesboro Central 6, CCS 1: In a 4-AA semifinal, defending champion Central Magnet scored four runs in the bottom of the second on Chargers pitcher Matthew Mercer and made them stand up. The Chargers were led by Justin Wheeler, who got half of his team’s hits with a 3-for-4 outing. CCS ends the season 26-7 while Central Magnet, which will play at Signal Mountain on Wednesday, improved to 28-11.