Sweet Water wins two in weekend tournament, opens season 4-1

Sweet Water (4-1) wrapped up a busy opening week by winning two of their games in a weekend tournament in Demopolis.

After the Bulldogs opened the weekend with an 8-2 win over Hale County, Sweet Water resumed play Saturday at 11 a.m. Despite a strong starting effort on the hill from freshman Chance Broussard, Sweet Water fell to Sipsey Valley 4-1.

Broussard struck out two over four innings of work and allowed only one earned run. Sweet Water tallied only two hits in the game, getting both hits and their only run from Will Huckabee.

Sweet Water wasted no time bouncing back from the loss as it dispatched Clarke County 13-3 in a 1 p.m. contest.

“I’ve got a young group. We’ve got a lot of depth,” first-year Sweet Water coach John Gluschick, who has already started players as young as the eighth grade this season, said.

Sweet Water trailed 3-2 heading into the top of the fifth when the Bulldog bats exploded for 10 runs in inning.

Harris Etheridge started the game on the mound, striking out two and allowing one earned run over three and two-thirds. Chase Joiner picked up the win, working an inning and a third while striking out one.

Every Sweet Water starter recorded a hit in the contest. Paul Weatherly went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Branson Davis went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Jonah Smith finished 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored. Huckabee went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored.

Wynn Thompson was 1-for-2 with one RBI and a run scored. Matthew Mendenhall finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored. Luke Davis went 1-for-3 with a run scored and one RBI. Cole Morgan was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Sasha Smith was 1-for-3 with a run scored. Shamar Lewis also scored a run.

“I think we look really good already,” Huckabee said of his team’s potential for the 2016 season. “I think we’re just going to get better as the year progresses.”

The win capped a week that saw the Bulldogs go 4-1. Sweet Water opened its week with a 6-1 win over J.U. Blacksher before downing Millry 11-3.

“I’ve got good senior leadership,” Gluschick said, pointing to the senior quartet of Branson Davis, Morgan, Thompson and Weatherly. “These are a bunch of tough, hard-nosed guys and they play the game the right way.”

Sweet Water is set to play against Thursday at Citronelle.