Strong pitching knocks Sweet Water from state playoffs
Sweet Water shortstop Tanner Luker fires a throw during Saturday’s playoff double-header against Leroy.
Sweet Water High School fell victim to two strong pitching performances Saturday, as the visiting Leroy Bears swept a Class 2A first-round playoff double-header by scores of 6-1 and 3-1.
Bulldog bats stayed silent for much of the day, before a seventh-inning rally in the second contest fell just short.
Trailing 3-0 going into the seventh in a must-win game, SWHS broke through against Leroy pitcher Trey Garris on Hunter Weatherly’s RBI double. Two batters later, with men on first and second, Garris coaxed a ground ball double play before Tate Gibbs’ single put two men on with two outs.
Bulldog Tanner Luker, who had turned in his own solid effort on the mound, then drove a long fly ball to left field that brought the crowd to its feet. The drive fell just short of the wall for the final out of the contest, ending Sweet Water’s season at 15-15.
“We missed some opportunities in that second game,” said Sweet Water head coach Kevin Byrd. “We should have generated more offense. We had some base running mistakes. That was our youth showing up, but it wasn’t just that we’re young. It just wasn’t our day.”
Garris and Luker were locked into a pitchers’ duel through three innings, before Leroy broke through in the fourth on a wild pitch. The Bears added single runs in the fifth and sixth.
Sweet Water had threatened to score in the opening frame against the sidearm-throwing Garris, but a bases loaded 1-2-3 double play ended the inning.
In the first game, Leroy used a four-hit, eight-strikeout effort by Alabama Southern Community College signee Braxton Wallace to take control of the best-of-three series with a 6-1 win.
Will Huckabee had two of the four Bulldog safeties, while Paul Weatherly and Branson Davis had one each.
Leory scored two runs in the top of the first on John Wilkins’ sacrifice fly and a passed ball. The Bears added runs in the fourth and sixth innings before adding two in the seventh.
Byrd said he is proud of his team’s effort this season. “We had three seniors and no juniors, so coming in with so much youth, the expectations were low. But I think these guys overachieved,” Byrd said.