The East Ridge Pioneers came thisclose to beating top-seeded Hixson on Saturday in the District 6-AA baseball tournament being played at Hixson's John Plumlee Stadium, so the Wildcats were more than ready for the second meeting on Wednesday in the championship game.
It only took five innings, but with lefty Tanner Moylan tossing a two-hitter, there wasn't much doubt about who would win as the Wildcats prevailed by a 10-0 margin.
"We did what we had to do. We only had six hits, but we had runners on base a lot as they walked a bunch, so the hits we got produced runs," said Hixson coach Colton Green later.
"We watched them beat three teams seeded higher than them, so there was no way we were going to take them lightly, but we jumped on them early and got a nice lead and that sort of demoralized them.
"My guys came out ready to play, but we're the tournament champions and it's nice to win a championship as we work to accomplish our next goal," Green added.
Moylan isn't very big physically, but he has a huge heart and he's a battler from the word go. He improved to 6-1 with the two-hitter as he finished with nine strikeouts and no walks.
Brandon Carver and Kenan Markum were the hitting stars as Carver had a two-run double while Markum also drove in two runs with two hits.
Hixson, now 25-10 overall, will be at home on Monday to host the Region 3-AA semifinals and most likely will face either Sequoyah or Loudon.
EAST RIDGE 000 00 -- 0 2 2
HIXSON 132 04 -- 10 6 1
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)