DECATURVILLE, Tenn. – After winning the District 9-AA title in exhilarating fashion, the Cascade Champions (22-8, 5-3) secured the program’s second Region 5-AA Championship in four seasons with a 5-0 win over Lewis County on Friday before a 6-0 win over Decatur County Riverside on Saturday.

In the Region 5-AA semifinal against the Panthers (8-17, 3-3), the Champions got another gem of a start from Caleb Crouch. Crouch, after pitching 6.0 innings against Summertown in the district tournament, pitched 6.0 innings once again with 12 strikeouts. He gave up no runs, four hits, and four walks on 114 pitches. Wickey Parker came on in relief to slam the door shut in the top of the seventh. Parker gave up just a single hit and one walk while striking out two batters on 23 pitches.

Cascade scored one run in the second before a three-run third inning that broke the game open. Crouch led off the third with a single to right, then Xykaiah Dixon smacked a two-out RBI-double into left to score Nicholas Mayhorn running for Crouch. Then, Thomas Demartelaere delivered an RBI-single back up the middle before River Maddox came through with a line drive RBI-single to center to grow the lead to 4-0. The Champions would tack on one more insurance run in the sixth inning.

At the plate for Cascade, Crouch went 2-for-2 with a walk and a double, Dixon was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a double, and Demartelaere finished 1-for-3 with an RBI. Maddox went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Daymien Maldonado finished 1-for-3.

On Saturday, Cascade used a dominant outing from Class AA Mr. Baseball finalist, Jayden Hathcock, to secure the second Region 5-AA title since 2023 under Travis Sheffield with a 6-0 win over Riverside (23-11, 6-0). 

Hathcock pitched 6.1 shutout innings, striking out 11 batters while walking four and giving up just two hits on a season-high 120 pitches. Jase Cagle came on in relief to record the final two outs on seven pitches for the Champions.

Cascade did all their damage at the plate in the fourth and fifth innings, powered by Elijah Wesenberg’s second home run of the season to open the scoring. In the fourth, a two-out walk to Demartelaere led to River Maddox being hit by a pitch to bring up Wesenberg. Cascade’s centerfielder launched a first-pitch 3-run home run to left field that gave the Champions a 3-0 lead. 

Then, in the fifth, Caleb Crouch opened with a leadoff single to left, Wickey Parker was hit by a pitch, and then Hathcock’s sacrifice fly drove home Crouch to take a 4-0 lead. Dixon followed that up by being hit by another pitch, and then Parker came home to score on a wild pitch before Demartelaere walked. Finally, Cascade manufactured one final insurance run when AJ Manus – running for Demartelaere – tried to steal second and drew a throw from the catcher, Asher Creasey, that allowed Dixon to steal home for a 6-0 lead heading into the final two innings.

At the plate for Cascade, Jordan Childress went 1-for-4, Caleb Crouch was 1-for-4, and Wickey Parker finished 2-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. Hathcock went 0-for-3 with an RBI, Demartelaere worked a pair of walks and was hit by a pitch, and Elijah Wesenberg finished 1-for-2 with three RBIs, a home run, and a walk. Maldonado also went 1-for-3. Cascade was hit five times from Riverside pitching.

The Champions now host surprise Region 6-AA Runners-Up, Huntington, in a best-of-three series sectional series beginning on Wednesday. Huntington went undefeated in District 12-AA play and won the district tournament in convincing fashion over Region 6-AA winners, Milan, but Huntington was upset in the first round of the region tournament, 2-1, against Sycamore. The Mustangs did exact revenge on the War Eagles later on Saturday to punch their ticket to the sectional round.