Sweet Water works through errors to sweep north Alabama squads
Sweet Water swept a doubleheader in Hackleburg against a pair of quality Class 1A foes Saturday.
Sweet Water 9, Hackleburg 7
The Bulldogs opened the day with a 9-7 victory over Hackleburg in a contest that saw SWHS lead 6-0 before having to hold on late for the win.
Sweet Water looked to be in line for a big da with a pair of runs in the first inning. Will Huckabee drove in Sasha Smith with a RBI fly to left for the 1-0 lead. Jonah Smith followed with a run-scoring single to plate Chastain Washington.
Sweet Water moved the advantage to 3-0 in the third inning when Braden Broussard reached on an error and Sasha Smith scored. Washington then scored on an error to make it 4-0 in favor of the Bulldogs. Flynn Mabowitz then had a RBI grounder to drive in Huckabee for the 5-0 advantage. The lead moved to 6-0 in the fifth when Jonah Smith scored on an error.
Two errors in the bottom of the fifth allowed Hackleburg to get on the board and cut the deficit to 6-1. Hackleburg then strung together a walk, two hits, an error and a steal of home to score three in the sixth and cut it to 6-4.
Sweet Water got all three of those runs back in the seventh. Broussard singled in Sasha Smith, Huckabee singled home Washington, and Luke Davis absorbed a bases-loaded beanball to plate Huckabee for the 9-4 lead. Three Hackleburg singles and three Sweet Water errors fueled a rally in the bottom of the seventh that saw the score move to 9-7 before Sweet Water recorded the final out.
Broussard picked up the win, striking out four over six and two-thirds innings of work while giving up just one earned run. The Bulldogs committed eight errors behind him, making the game far more compelling than Broussard’s pitching performance would dictate.
The Bulldogs wreaked havoc on the base paths, swiping 14 bags as a team in the game.
Sasha Smith had four steals while Washington has three. Huckabee, Jonah Smith and Hunter Mendenhall each stole two while Taylor Smith swiped one.
Sasha Smith had two hits and scored three runs. Huckabee had two hits, drove in two runs and scored two. Jonah Smith had two hits, drove in a run and scored one. Mabowitz, Davis and Broussard each had one RBI. Washington scored three runs.
Sweet Water 5, Decatur Heritage 4
The Bulldogs followed with a 5-4 victory over Decatur Heritage in a game in which they committed four errors and had to hold on for the win.
Sweet Water scored three runs with two outs in the third to take the 3-0 lead. John Thomas Etheridge scored on an error to make it 1-0. Sasha Smith scored on an error to move it to 2-0. Huckabee then doubled in Broussard to push the lead to 3-0.
Davis singled win Jonah Smith in the top of the sixth for the 4-0 lead. Three Bulldog errors in the home half of the sixth allowed DHCS to plate three runs and cut it to 4-3.
Sweet Water added a needed insurance run in the top of the seventh when Jonah Smith singled in Huckabee for the 5-3 lead. Decatur Heritage added a run in the seventh before Chase Joiner stranded the tying run for his second save of the day.
Jonah Smith was electric in his five and two-thirds innings of work, allowing no hits and walking one while striking out 11. Despite the near flawless effort on his part, the Sweet Water hurler surrendered three unearned runs.
Broussard and Sasha Smith each stole a base in the victory. Huckabee anchored the offense with a 2-for-4 day that included a double, a triple, one RBI and a run scored. Jonah Smith, Mendenhall, Davis and Shamar Lewis each singled in the game.
Sweet Water (8-0) is set to play again Monday when it travels to Excel.