COALMONT, Tenn. – The Cascade Champions (14-5, 3-3) were unable to secure the District 9-AA series sweep at Grundy County (5-16, 2-4) on Tuesday night, falling 5-3.

Cascade looked like it was going to pick up where it left off in Monday’s 10-0 victory when Jordan Childress lined his fourth home run of the season in the very first at-bat of the game over the left field wall. Xykaiah Dixon followed that up with an infield single to third, then Jayden Hathcock singled to right. Dixon was then caught stealing third before Thomas Demartelaere walked, prompting a pitching change from the Yellow Jackets who brought in Connor Hartline-Ponds. Ponds then had to exit after two pitches, and so Grundy County settled with Beau Roberts on the mound.

Roberts induced a pop-out from Wickey Parker, but he then walked Caleb Crouch to load the bases. Daymian Maldonado drove home Hathcock from third two pitches later via an error at third to double Cascade’s lead to 2-0. Jaxson Milliken flew out to end the inning.

Caleb Crouch got the start on the mound for Cascade, and he lasted 3.2 innings, giving up five unearned runs on seven hits, four walks, and four strikeouts on 72 pitches. Cascade only committed two errors, but they both ended up being extremely costly.

Grundy County stranded a pair of runners in the bottom of the first, but after Roberts put up a zero in the top of the second, the Yellow Jackets drew level in the home half. Roberts led things off with a single, but was then picked off at first before Peyton Yates singled to center. Peyton McGee then reached safely after an uncharacteristic error from Childress at short, and then Ponds grounded into a near inning-ending double play. However, a walk to the next batter loaded the bases, and Cadon Dove singled home a pair of runs on an infield base hit to tie the game at 2-2 before Cascade ended the inning by throwing out a runner trying to advance to third. 

Cascade re-took the lead on a sac-fly from Maldonado, 3-2, but that would be the final run the Champs would score on the night. Beau Roberts, who was the third Yellow Jackets’ pitcher of the first inning, would go the distance, throwing the final 6.2 innings and giving up just one earned run on four hits total along with three walks while striking out five batters on 98 pitches. For whatever reason, the Cascade lineup just could not crack Roberts, and it cost them.

Grundy County waited until the bottom of the fourth to re-take the lead, and it all began with an error at third. Crouch struck out the next batter, but then an RBI-double from Peyton McGee tied the game at 3-3. Crouch struck out the next batter, but then Easton Rymer lined a two-out, two-strike  RBI-single back up the middle to put the Yellow Jackets ahead for the first time, 4-3. Crouch then walked the following batter before giving up a single as Grundy County re-loaded the bases. Jordan Childress was brought to the mound, but before he could escape the jam, he lost Ryder White on a full-count pitch, walking in the third run of the inning and doubling Grundy County’s lead, 5-3.

Cascade put together a pair of singles in three at-bats to open the fifth inning, but Maldonado flew out to right before the Champs were picked off at second base to end the threat. Cascade would not get another runner in scoring position or record another hit on the night, and Grundy County locked down a shocking district win to earn a series split. 

Cascade’s final District 9-AA series begins on Monday at home against Community in the “Battle of Bedford” with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m.