A win against the Tullahoma Wildcats was just one small step toward for the Warren County High School baseball team’s goals this season, but it was a giant leap in terms of putting the Pioneers back on the map as a state contender.
In a game that featured several lead changes, 30 hits, a grand slam and a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, the Pioneers were able to hold on to a 14-13 victory over the Tullahoma Wildcats, who entered the game ranked No. 23 in the country.
Warren County (5-1) entered Tuesday’s game at Patrick Ramsey Field as a big underdog against the 6-0 Wildcats that feature potential MLB draft picks Justus and Jordan Sheffield. After two innings, it was clear why Tullahoma is so highly regarded nationally.
The Wildcats scored five runs in the top of the first off Pioneer starter Will Sweeton. Dalton Davis had a two-run double and Justus Sheffield added a run-scoring double of his own as Warren County dug an early hole.
The Pioneers answered with one run in the bottom of the first when Logan Underhill reached on a two-out single, stole two bases and ultimately scored on a passed ball.
Tullahoma didn’t waste long extending its lead as Davis and Justus Sheffield each had RBI singles in the second inning to make it 7-1.
Hunter Mullican’s RBI single in the bottom of the second scored Chayse Frye, who reached base on a double to begin the inning. Still, Warren County went into the third inning trailing 7-2.
After Sweeton worked his first clean inning in the top of the third, coach Adam Childs gathered his team for a meeting. The message from the Warren County coach was clear – don’t quit just because their jerseys says Tullahoma – and the Pioneers heard it clearly.
Warren County picked up its offense in the third as Lee Carden started the inning with a bunt single. Underhill followed with a single, then Kyle Rutledge reached on an error to load the bases.
Senior Alex Hillis started a stretch of RBI singles when he drove a ball into center field. Frye and Mullican added infield singles that scored runs to make it 7-5. Jett Urtubees drew Warren County within one with an RBI single to left field, bringing back up the man who started the rally.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Carden stood in the box looking to put the Pioneers ahead. With one swing, Carden changed the complexion of the game.
Facing a 2-2 count, Carden wanted to a see a fastball he could drive. He got it and hit his third home run of the season, a grand slam that put the Pioneers ahead 10-7. Carden knew it was going to be a good hit, though he didn’t know it would leave the park.
“I was sitting on a fastball because of the count and that’s what I got,” said Carden. “I swung like it was a regular at-bat and it felt good when it left the bat. I didn’t expect it to go out.”
The eight-run rally to take the lead was exactly what coach Childs wanted to see from his team as he continues to preach being competitive.
“Since the first day I met with the kids, I told them we were never going to give up and we were going to keep battling,” said Childs. “We had to teach them how to believe they could come back and we did some last year, but this year to do it against such a quality opponent shows that the kids have bought into it. They showed that we can play with a top team and can come back if we keep battling.”
Carden’s home run gave the Pioneers their first lead, but it was only temporary. Tullahoma rallied with two runs in the fourth, then two more in the fifth to regain an 11-10 advantage.
Trailing once again, Warren County went to bat in the fifth inning looking to take the lead for good.
Mullican showed patience at the plate to begin the inning, drawing a lead-off walk. It set the trend of free passes as Park Hilliard followed by drawing a walk of his own and Carden was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Underhill came up with his third hit, a single that brought Mullican in to tie the game at 11. On the next pitch, Rutledge’s hustle ended up paying dividends as he beat out a double-play attempt, scoring Hilliard in the process.
Running was key in the inning as Tullahoma gave the Pioneers two more runs. Underhill and Rutledge each scored on passed balls to make it 14-11.
The three-run cushion didn’t last long as Warren County gave two runs back to the Wildcats. Two sixth-inning errors led to two runs for Tullahoma, leaving the Pioneers clinging to a  14-13 lead entering the final inning.
Coach Childs decided to turn the ball over to sophomore Collin Smedley in the seventh inning. Smedley was able to shut the door, but not without adding some drama.
Smedley led the inning off with a walk, which was followed by a sacrifice bunt to put the tying run in scoring position. A strikeout got the Pioneers one out away from the win, but another walk and passed ball left coach Childs with a decision.
With runners on second and third and Smedley behind dangerous Tullahoma leadoff batter Jordin Sheffield 2-1, coach Childs decided to issue an intentional walk to set up a force play at every bag. The move paid off as Sheffield wasn’t able to get the winning hit and Smedley forced the final batter to fly deep to right field, where Urtubees went to the warning track to snare the game-ending out.
Smedley, who now has two saves this season, was proud he got to be a part of the big win.
“This was a great team effort and I was proud to be a part of it,” said Smedley. “When I went in, I was excited. I have a lot of faith in my team so I knew if I could throw strikes they had my back in the field.”
Coach Childs believes the Tullahoma win is the biggest in the regular season since his arrival, though it doesn’t top any of the postseason victories the team earned a season ago.
Beating the Wildcats is just a step toward what coach Childs hopes to accomplish this season.
“Tullahoma has been a big hurdle for us and we showed we can compete with them,” said Childs. “This win lets us know we can play with some of the big boys and it gives us some momentum moving into district play. Besides that, we need to let the game go and play the next game just like we did against Tullahoma.
“The game shows we will fight and battle you until the end, but it won’t look as good if we don’t keep up the pressure in district.”
Sweeton earned the victory, going six innings and topping 120 pitches in the process. Sweeton gave up 13 runs on 17 hits while walking four and striking out one.
Carden led the offense two hits and four RBIs while Underhill kept his batting average above .500 with a 3-for-4 game. Mullican, Frye, Hillis and Urtubees all finished with RBI hits.
The Pioneers were back in action yesterday when the preseason District 6-AAA tournament began at Patrick Ramsey Field. Results from the game were unavailable.
Warren County will return to play today with a 3 p.m. game against White County. The Pioneers are also scheduled to play Saturday at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.