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Sweetwater brings bitter end to DCHS
Braya Murphy
Braya Murphy takes a hard cut at a pitch during the early innings of the sub-state tournament game hosted by the Tigerettes this past week. DeKalb County, which had won both its district and region, was eliminated by the visiting Sweetwater squad 7-4.

Things were looking bright when Kenzie France jacked a two-run homer over the left field fence in the third inning, giving the Tigerettes a 4-1 advantage going into the fourth inning of their sub-state showdown with the visiting Sweetwater Wildcats.

But a Sweetwater rally brought a bitter end to the DeKalb County season as a big fifth and sixth inning sent the visitors on to the state finals and ended the Tigerette season by a score of 7-4  – a season that saw the DeKalb County squad win both its district and regional tournaments.

The game against Sweetwater began evenly as both teams put up a run on the board the first inning. The second saw some separation as DeKalb added another run. However, it was the bottom of the third when Kenzie France slugged one out of the ballpark to give her team a three-run lead with just four innings left until another state berth for the Tigerettes.

The dream ended on a late rally by the Wildcats as they plated three runs in the fifth, drawing to a tie with their hosts. The sixth inning proved to be the difference as Sweetwater hammered in three more runs while the Tigerettes were unable to respond.

The Wildcats outhit DeKalb 13-6 while neither team made an error in the field. France accounted for DeKalb’s only homerun while Kristena Bain hit a double to add to Megan Walker’s two hits and single shots by France and Joni Robinson. France took the loss from the circle.

Their departure from the tournament came days after they went to Dunlap and defeating Sequatchie County 4-1 to win the regional title. France won that game from the circle, giving up just six hits while DeKalb got nine hits. Her performance from the pitching circle came after she jacked two home runs days before in the first round of the regional tournament against Marion County.

The Tigerettes won the opening round game 15-5, run ruling the visiting Marion County squad in the sixth inning. Allison Maynard also had a home run in the first round blow out.

The Tigerettes end their 2018 campaign with a mark of 23-12 and an 11-3 district record. Sweetwater, with its win, was set to face McKnight last evening in the state finals.