Five years ago, Chattanooga Christian School baseball coach Ben Wharton sat down with a large group of eighth graders to let them know how important they were to the future of the program.
Wharton also explained to those same players that their next few years on the diamond would not be easy, with the Chargers set to make the jump from TSSAA Division II-A to DII-AA with a very youthful roster.
Instead of letting tough results tear the team apart over the previous three seasons, a stretch in which CCS won a total of 24 games (including just one in region play) from 2022-24, Wharton’s group trusted the process.
This spring, the Chargers are seeing some notable dividends through a 15-8 start that includes a 5-7 mark in DII-AA’s East Region, where the competition includes Chattanooga rivals Baylor (which won three consecutive state titles from 2018-21, with the 2020 postseason canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic) and McCallie (which won its third state title in 2022). After hitting three home runs the past two seasons, the Chargers have 11 so far in 2025, when they have posted three walk-off wins — all on Friday nights in front of large turnouts.
CCS not only defeated McCallie for the first time since making the leap to the top division for Tennessee private schools but took two of three games in the series this week with the Blue Tornado, with the Chargers winning 10-4 at home and 14-7 on the road in the rubber match.