Sweet Water breezes through first round

Sweet Water had little trouble dispatching of Winterboro in the first round of the Class 1A state baseball playoffs Friday. The Bulldogs took game one 23-0 before trouncing Winterboro 22-6 in game two.

Sweet Water 23, Winterboro 0

Sweet Water did all of its game one damage in the second and fourth innings. Hunter Mendenhall reached on an error to open the bottom of the second before Chance Broussard drew a walk. Luke Davis followed with a two-run triple and the flood gates were open. Braiden Broussard then singled home Trent Sams to move it to 3-0. John Thomas Etheridge singled in Braiden Broussard to make it 4-0. After a Sasha Smith single, Jonah Smith tripled to stretch the lead to 6-0. A two-out error plated Chastain Washington to make it 7-0 before another error allowed Will Huckabee and Chance Broussard to cap the nine-run rally.

A Huckabee hit-by-pitch opened the bottom of the fourth for the Bulldogs and ignited a 14-run rally. Chance Broussard doubled to put runners on second and third with one out. Davis singled Huckabee home to make it 10-0. After Chance Broussard scored on a passed ball, Braiden Broussard singled in Sams for the 12-0 lead. Etheridge then singled before Shamar Lewis doubled in Braiden Broussard to move it to 13-0. Two batters later, Etheridge scored on a Jonah Smith grounder. Huckabee followed with a double to plate Lewis and Sasha Smith for the 16-0 lead. Huckabee scored on an error for the 17-0 lead. Chance Broussard singled in R.J. Rodgers. Etheridge drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in Chance Broussard for the 19-0 lead. Lewis tripled in Sams, Braiden Broussard and Etheridge for the 22-0 advantage. Sasha Smith then singled in Lewis to set the final margin.

Jonah Smith was dominant on the mound, striking out 11 while allowing just one hit over five shutout innings.

Sweet Water 22, Winterboro 6

Sweet Water scored in all five innings and ran its lead to 22-0 before Winterboro got on the board in game two. Sasha Smith picked up the win on the mound, striking out six over three innings of no-hit work.

Sasha Smith singled to open the game before Jonah Smith doubled him in for the 1-0 lead. Mendenhall later singled in the elder Smith for a 2-0 lead. Chastain Washington came on as a courtesy runner for Mendenhall and stole third before scoring on a dropped third strike for the 3-0 lead.

Etheridge’s double in the top of the second ignited another rally. Two batters later, he scored on a passed ball. Jonah Smith then doubled in Lewis and Sasha Smith for the 6-0 lead. Huckabee doubled home Jonah Smith. Braiden Broussard later doubled in Washington, Chance Broussard and Davis to move the lead to 10-0.

Sweet Water added seven more runs in the top of the third. Jonah Smith singled in Lewis and Davis singled home Jonah Smith to make it 12-0. Washington and Broussard each scored on an error to move it to 14-0. Etheridge later tripled Davis and Reid Joiner to make it 16-0. Etheridge then scored on a passed ball to move it to 17-0.

After a Flynn Mabowitz single in the top of the fourth, Joiner hit an inside-the-park homer to move it to 19-0. Sweet Water moved the lead to 20-0 in the fifth when Sams scored on an error. Mendenhall doubled in Sasha Smith to make it 21-0. Mabowitz grounded to second to plate Washington and set the final margin.

Sweet Water (24-7) is set to host Sumiton Christian (24-7) in round two of the Class 1A baseball playoffs next Friday.